Until reports came on Thursday night that the US was preparing to impose more sanctions, the Turkish government had had a decent few days. The currency crisis, which threatened to become chaotic on Monday, had improved. The lira had almost returned to its level of a week ago. During that time, the country had increased liquidity in its banking system, unveiled $15bn (£11.8bn) of direct investment from Qatar, announced a clampdown on short-sellers and on Thursday its finance minister, Berat Albayrak, talked the language of fiscal discipline on a phone call with investors. There have been worse fightbacks.
Yet there is a big difference between buying time and turning a corner. Turkey has merely achieved the former. All the main elements of the crisis remain unaddressed. The Qatari money was pledged at impressive speed but the external funding requirement is enormous – about $220bn during the next 12 months, economists estimate.
.png?w=600)
