ANKARA
The U.S. dollar jumped to a record high against the Turkish lira at 2.50 on Monday.
The dollar increased in value after calls are made on the Central bank to cut interest rates in order to boost growth in the country.
After reaching the 2.50 level, the dollar balanced itself at 2.48 before the closing of the interbank market.
Against the euro, the Turkish currency also hit a low of nearly 2.83 liras on Monday morning.
The Central Bank of Turkey cut key interest rates by 50 base points, from 8.25 percent to 7.75 percent, in its latest monetary policy meeting on Jan. 20, but the bank's move was considered insufficient by Turkish officials, including the president, in order to boost growth, which in Turkey stood at 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2014.
There are also rising expectations that the U.S. Federal reserve will start to hike interest rates mid-2015.
Interest rates constitute a controversial topic in Turkey as officials have repeatedly criticized the Central Bank's tight money policies for limiting economic growth.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized, once again, its policies Sunday.
"The bank will be held to account if there are fluctuations in the lira," he said.
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