Moody’s lowers Turkey’s rating

ISTANBUL: Ratings agency Moody’s cut Turkey’s sovereign rating further into junk territory overnight, citing a continued weakening of its economic and political institutions and the increased risks from its wide current account deficit. The rating was downgraded by one notch to Ba2. “The government appears still to be focused on short-term measures, to the detriment of effective monetary policy and of fundamental economic reform,” Moody’s said. Set against a negative institutional backdrop, Turkey’s external position, debt and rollover needs had continued to deteriorate, it said.— Reuters