Investing.com -- USD/TRY rose as much as 5% on Friday evening surging to its highest level since late-January after Turkey's prime minister indicated that military leaders have conducted the initial stages of an apparent coup.
Speaking exclusively with Turkish television network NTV, prime minister Binali Yildrim said military officers engaged in an illegal action on Friday night, but refused to characterize the attempt as a coup. Shortly after, a military group announced on national television that it had seized control of the country, as soldiers blocked traffic on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge. Meanwhile, Turkey president Recep Erdogan attempted to drum up support among the public, telling CNN Turk that the coup attempt will not succeed and that the plotters of the takeover will "pay a heavy price."
"There is no power higher than the power of the people," Erdogan said, via Facetime. "The judiciary will swiftly respond to this attack."
The U.S. Dollar soared to an intraday-high of 3.0497 against the Turkish Lira, before falling back slightly to 3.0137, up 4.71% on the session. The dollar continued to gain strength versus the Lira late on Friday night, as Turkish citizens flooded ATMs in a massive run on the banks. At the same time, investors piled into a host of safe-haven assets, as Gold rose 0.43% to $1,337.90, while the U.S. 10-Year fell to 1.558% erasing some of its earlier gains. The S&P 500 Futures Fund fell by 0.21% to 2,152.75 and the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF, a $364 million fund that tracks top Turkish equities, plunged by more than 5.2% to 39.40 in after-hours trading.
Earlier, Turkey media outlets reported that an attempted coup broke out around 21:00 local time (2:00 EST) after two F-16s were spotted at low altitude flying over the Parliament building in Ankara. In addition, military officers reportedly gained control of airports in Istanbul and Ankara, preventing landings in both major cities.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, jumped more than 0.65% to an intraday high of 96.70, extending earlier gains. The index has still declined by approximately 3% since early-December.
There have been at least three attempts by the military to take over the government since 1960, the last coming in 1980. In 1993, former Turkey president Turgut Özal was reportedly assassinated in the midst of a prolonged Turkish-Kurdish conflict, which included an alleged coup attempt by the Turkey military.