People walk past a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 6, 2020. The Turkish currency dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, sparking public concerns over the future. (Photo by Yasin Akgul/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Aug. 6 -- The Turkish currency dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, sparking public concerns over the future.
At 1:30 p.m. (1030 GMT), one dollar was traded at 7.26 Turkish liras, which has nearly lost 20 percent of value against the U.S. currency since the beginning of this year.
"It seemed that we are all going down, no matter how much we earn," Kutay Gurel, a 40-year-old citizen in Istanbul, told Xinhua.
In Gurel's view, the depreciation will create a domino effect in the country, leading to many bankruptcies and expulsions from jobs.
"Small scale businesses have no chance to survive under these conditions," he said.
The lira depreciated over 3 percent on the same day to a low of 7.28 liras against the dollar.
"After one dollar saw 7.28 liras a couple of hours ago, I thought that people would flock into the exchange offices to exchange their dollars," a local resident told Xinhua.
"But, on the contrary, they were all empty," he said, without giving his name. "I think there is no extra fund left in the hands of the citizens due to the high living costs," he said.
Cem Demirok, a personal trainer, said his business has already significantly shrunk due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"And now, under these conditions, we would not be able to heal our wounds soon," he told Xinhua, noting that Turkish people need more than one plan to make their livings in case their businesses have to be shut down in the upcoming period.
"It is very painful to see that we are getting poorer every day despite all our efforts," Demirok added. "But for the moment, we have no choice but to try to do our job well to survive."
Meanwhile, one euro was traded at 8.58 liras, up from 8.19 on Tuesday.
The Turkish economy has long been suffering from the adverse impacts of the pandemic and high annual inflation rate, which was reported as 11.76 in July.
