ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira weakened 0.5% on Tuesday and was down a sixth straight session due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has also created fresh domestic inflationary pressure and risks widening the current account deficit.

The lira slipped to 14.4550 by 0621 GMT, down from a close of 14.39 on Monday.

It had weakened to 14.62 when volatility returned at the end of February as tensions between Moscow and Kyiv rose, before rebounding.

In the first two months of the year, authorities had been able to contain the lira in a tight band through costly interventions in the forex market and a scheme that protects lira deposits against depreciation.

The lira is now down some 8.8% since the end of 2021, a year in which it shed 44% of its value against the dollar.