NEW YORK: Pinebridge Investments LLC and T. Rowe Price Group Inc fund managers cite the Turkish lira as a top emerging-market (EM) currency bet for 2025, as the central bank is seen charting a steady course.
Turkiye’s once infamously volatile currency is proving more stable than some of its peers of late, as officials in Ankara seek to fight inflation by slowing its slide.
A policy benchmark of 50% is luring yield-hungry foreign investors, and sticky price pressures mean any interest rate reductions next year are likely to be gradual.
“Long Turkish lira has been a high-conviction carry trade in some of our multi-asset portfolios since June 2024 – we have recently added to the position following a sudden depreciation,” said Wenting Shen, multi-asset solutions strategist and portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price.
“We believe this trade still has some legs to run in the coming months.”
The lira was one of the least buffeted emerging-market currencies in the week of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election last month.
Hedge funds turned to the Turkish currency, encouraged by support for the currency from state-run banks and the prospect of juicy returns.
Turkiye’s currency and debt are showing little spillover from the threat of tariffs under Trump’s second term, according to Anders Faergemann, co-head of EM global fixed income at Pinebridge. — Bloomberg
