ANKARA: Turkey has seen little outflow of funds following Moody’s decision to cut its sovereign debt rating to “junk” and sees the possibility of such outflows as remote, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.

Kurtulmus, the main government spokesman, made the comment at a news conference following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Moody’s late on Friday cut its rating on Turkey’s sovereign debt to non-investment grade, citing concerns about the rule of law following a failed coup in July and risks from a slowing economy. Kurtulmus said the move was political motivated.

Turkish assets were hit in early trade on Monday, with the benchmark BIST 100 index falling more than 4 percent and the lira currency weakening.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2016