Turkish lira trims losses, but worries over Syria persist (updated)

Oyak Cimento Fabrikalari AS

08/10/2019 05:42

(Adds market comment, reaction, bonds, indexes)
    By Ceyda Caglayan and Nevzat Devranoglu
    ISTANBUL, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira recovered on
Tuesday after reaching its weakest level in more than a month,
but investors were still worried about the fallout from Ankara's
planned incursion in northeastern Syria. 
    Those worries were heightened late on Monday when U.S.
President Donald Trump warned he would "obliterate" the Turkish
economy if the country went too far in its planned military
incursion in Syria  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N26T1HJ.
    The lira  TRYTOM=D3 , which lost more than 2% of its value
on Monday to close at 5.8370, recovered to around 5.8195 against
the U.S. dollar by 0811 GMT, after weakening to 5.8465 earlier
in the day.
    Trump said he would "totally destroy and obliterate"
Turkey's economy if it took action in Syria that he considered
"off limits," after his decision on Sunday to pull 50 American
special forces troops from northeastern Syria.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N26R0RS
    The leader of the Turkish opposition Iyi Party, Meral
Aksener, called Trump's threat a "diplomatic catastrophe."
    Turkey's main share index, BIST100  .XU100 , was down 1.75%.
The banking index  .XBANK  declined 2.12%.
    However, the shares of cement companies that have production
plants close to Syrian border, such as Mardin Cimento  MRDIN.IS 
and Adana Cimento  ADNAC.IS , rose two days straight on
expectations of reconstruction of the area.
    The extensive area of Ankara's planned incursion into Syria
could lead to months of military activity that raises concern in
the market, said one bank treasury trader. Trump's threats also
kept the lira under pressure, he said.
    Currency depreciation could lead to expectations of a less-
aggressive interest rate cut when the central bank meets later
this month, the trader said. 
    The U.S. withdrawal will leave Kurdish-led forces in Syria
who have long been allied with Washington vulnerable to the
planned incursion by the Turkish military, which brands them
terrorists.
    The Turkish defence ministry said in a Twitter post late on
Monday that all preparations for a possible military operation
into northeastern Syria had been completed  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N26S5N5 
    Tensions between the United States and Turkey have been
simmering in recent months over issues including Turkey's
purchase of Russian missile defence systems and disagreements
over policy in Syria.
    Turkey's sovereign dollar bonds came under fresh pressure,
with some longer-dated issues slipping to two-week lows. Bonds
maturing in 2030 and beyond lost nearly 1 cent in a second day
of decline.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nS8N26L02W 
    In a currency crisis last year, the lira lost nearly 30% of
its value against the dollar, partly over concern about
worsening ties between Ankara and Washington.

 (Writing by Daren Butler; editing by Larry King)
 ((daren.butler@tr.com; +90-212-350 7053; Reuters Messaging:
daren.butler.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))