Türkiye Spends $12 Billion Defending Lira After Erdogan Rival’s Arrest

Protesters hold a Turkish national flag as they clash with Turkish anti riot police using tear gas and water cannons during a demonstration in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor, in Ankara on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Protesters hold a Turkish national flag as they clash with Turkish anti riot police using tear gas and water cannons during a demonstration in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor, in Ankara on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
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Türkiye Spends $12 Billion Defending Lira After Erdogan Rival’s Arrest

Protesters hold a Turkish national flag as they clash with Turkish anti riot police using tear gas and water cannons during a demonstration in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor, in Ankara on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)
Protesters hold a Turkish national flag as they clash with Turkish anti riot police using tear gas and water cannons during a demonstration in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor, in Ankara on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP)

Türkiye’s central bank burnt through almost $12 billion defending the lira in a record intervention after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s detention of his political rival triggered a political crisis that scared investors and sent the currency reeling.

The bank spent $11.5 billion propping up the currency on Wednesday after the detention of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, the most prominent leader in Türkiye’s political opposition, said a person with knowledge of the matter and calculations based on official data by Burumcekci Research and Consultancy, the Financial Times reported.

It said the intervention was nearly four times larger than any previous such move on the bank’s official records.

It came after the lira plunged as much as 11% against the US dollar to a record low on Wednesday as Erdogan’s move against Imamoglu ignited a stampede out of the Turkish markets.

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One Turkish banker told the Financial Times that the officials had “lost control” of the market early on Wednesday, adding it had “left a scar” on investors’ confidence.

JPMorgan Chase, a significant player in emerging market finance, also noted “lira liquidity was impaired amid large outflows” on Wednesday.

Analysts say the central bank likely continued intervening in the market on Thursday and Friday. Policymakers have taken other steps to soothe markets this week, including holding an emergency central bank meeting on Thursday in which a key overnight interest rate was increased in an attempt to keep local savers in lira accounts rather than switching to dollars.

The actions have eased the lira’s decline, leaving the currency down 3% for the week, though Istanbul’s Bist 100 share index tumbled almost 8 percent on Friday in its worst week since 2008.

On Sunday, Bloomberg said Turkish central bank officials held a “technical meeting” with commercial lenders to prepare for potential market volatility after a key opposition politician was formally arrested.

The meeting discussed “the latest developments in markets,” according to a statement from the Turkish Banks Association.



Saudi Arabia, US Commit to Deeper Economic Ties with Energy, Industry Deals as Trump Visits Riyadh

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
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Saudi Arabia, US Commit to Deeper Economic Ties with Energy, Industry Deals as Trump Visits Riyadh

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and US President Donald Trump speak during a meeting at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)

Saudi Arabia and the United States signed on Tuesday energy and industry agreements as President Donald Trump visited Riyadh where he was welcomed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

“The United States and Saudi Arabia share a commitment to deeper economic integration, underscoring the Kingdom’s pledge of expanding cooperation in critical sectors such as health, energy, and science,” said White House in announcing the agreements.

The US Department of Energy and Saudi Ministry of Energy concluded an agreement for cooperation in the field of energy exchanged by Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

“This agreement builds upon their strong existing relationship; it will focus collaboration on examining the potential for innovation, development, financing, and deployment of energy infrastructure,” said the statement.

The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources and US Department of Energy signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to collaborate on mining and mineral resources. “The agreement contributes to economic development and the diversification and resilience of critical mineral supply chains,” added the statement.

NASA and the Saudi Space Agency signed an agreement for a CubeSat to fly on NASA’s Artemis II test flight. Saudi Arabia’s CubeSat will measure aspects of space weather at a range of distances from Earth and deploy in high Earth orbit from a spacecraft adapter on the Space Launch System rocket after the Orion spacecraft is safely flying on its own with its crew of four astronauts.

The US and Saudi Arabia recently agreed to modernize the Air Transport Agreement to allow US airlines to carry cargo between Saudi Arabia and third countries without needing to stop in the United States, an important right for cargo hub operations. Saudi carriers will have the same rights to serve the United States.

Trump had arrived in the Kingdom earlier on Tuesday on his first overseas trip since his reelection. He will next visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia and the United States also signed the largest defense sales agreement in history, worth nearly early $142 billion.