ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira was steady against the U.S dollar on Friday after nearing record lows in the previous session as Turkey’s central bank shocked markets by cutting its main interest rate to 13%.

The currency stood at 18.1 as of 0438 GMT, nearly flat from its close on Thursday when it briefly hit 18.15, its weakest since Dec. 20, after the surprise rate cut.

Turkish lira leads losses after rate cut

Turkey’s central bank cut its benchmark rate by 100 basis points and said it needed to keep driving economic growth despite inflation hitting nearly 80% and a monetary tightening trend among its peers worldwide.