ANKARA: The Turkish government has no intention of curbing the independence of the central bank, officials said on Thursday, after the lira hit a two-week low on concerns about the new administration’s plans.

Fresh from an election win, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday announced his ruling AK Party’s platform in parliament, saying the central bank would continue to determine monetary policy tools directly as the basis for securing price stability.

But investors homed in on the absence of a line that had been in the previous government programme saying the bank would set monetary policy independently. The lira rapidly weakened beyond 2.9 against the dollar, hitting its weakest point since Nov 11.

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, the newly appointed economy chief, said that “speculation” about central bank independence “does not reflect the truth”.

“The central bank’s fundamental duty is to achieve price stability. It will continue to determine monetary policy instruments independently,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2015