ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has gathered government officials and top finance administrators again Tuesday amid concerns about the Turkish lira’s current status against foreign currencies.
The Turkish lira hit record lows against the U.S. dollar Friday, reaching 2.64 Turkish liras per dollar.
"We will discuss and review the measures to take in this global crisis atmosphere in coordination with all our ministers and institutions," Davutoglu told a parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development, or AK, Party.
The assessment meeting titled "Extended Economic Coordination Council Meeting" started at 2.30 p.m. Tuesday at the Prime Ministry Office in Ankara.
Davutoglu chaired a similar meeting Sunday attended by Deputy Prime Minister responsible for economy Ali Babacan, Central Bank of Republic of Turkey Governor Erdem Basci, Head of Capital Market Board Vahdettin Ertas and Deputy Undersecretary of the Turkish Treasury Cavit Dagdas at his residence in Ankara.
In remarks made at the parliament, Davutoglu lashed out at those who claimed Turkey would be engulfed by an economic crisis soon, with the Turkish lira tumbling against the greenback.
"Nobody should expect a crisis ahead of the June 7 general elections; our banking system is as sound as bell," he said.
Davutoglu said that the issue was also thoroughly discussed with his ministers at Monday's cabinet meeting, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the presidential palace in Ankara.
"Head of Turkish Central Bank will also give a related briefing to the president tomorrow," the prime minister added.
The Central Bank governor recently drew flak from the president and other government officials for not bringing interest rates down enough to boost production.
Davutoglu described the recent slip of Turkish currency to a series of record lows against the U.S. dollar as "reflection of an extraneous volatility" on Turkey, stressing that there was no single country that could avoid it.
Consumer Price Inflation index in Turkey was up less than analysts had forecast in February, the Turkish Statistical Institute said in a statement Tuesday.
The Central Bank stayed prudent over the figures, as it said Tuesday that a trim in interest rates would be on "a measured scale."
