The lineup of forex brokers that have restricted trading on the Turkish lira, following a slide in the currency to a record low against the dollar on Thursday, has been growing bigger. Among the latest entries into this group of brokers are ThinkMarkets and Oanda Japan.
In a note to its clients, FCA-regulated ThinkMarkets, a multi-asset brokerage offering forex, CFDs, and commodity products, said it had transferred trades on EUR/TRY and USD/TRY currency pairs to the close only mode until further notice.
"With increasingly strong rhetoric from Turkish authorities around manipulation of the currency, it is highly likely that the market could cease normal function within the next days," added ThinkMarkets.
Elsewhere, OANDA Japan has introduced fresh restriction measures for Turkish lira related transactions. Namely, it has stopped accepting new orders for the Turkish currency pairs as of today, with the timing of reopening still undecided. The decision involves EUR/TRY (Euro/Turkish lira), TRY/JPY (Turkish lira/Japanese yen), and USD/TRY (US$/Turkish lira) and only settlement orders on these pairings can be traded by OANDA customers.
"If the situation of the Turkish lira deteriorates, the margin rate will be raised and emergency measures will be taken. Please be aware that there may be forced Payments ," the company warned.
OANDA is a multi-regulated broker with offices in Toronto, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates an FX Trading Platform utilized by a mix of retail and institutional investors. It also provides currency information services to individuals, large corporations, and portfolio managers.
Turkey's authorities blame offshore trades
Turkey's currency saw wild moves as investors fretted about a lack of reserves to protect the economy from the coronavirus impact. The lira's collapse already spread to other emerging market currencies.
The new restrictions also come as Turkey's banking watchdog is working hard to make it tougher to bet against the local currency. It has limited the amount of liras Turkish banks can make available to foreign investors and also barred local lenders from trading liras with three global banks.
Turkish media reported that authorities are investigating possible violations in foreign-exchange, deposit, credit, and brokerage services. The banking regulator seems convinced that offshore trade is the driver of lira speculation and has specifically blamed some UK financial institutions for taking manipulative positions against the lira.
