ISTANBUL, Reuters – The stock market plunged again on Wednesday, gripped with worries about soaring inflation after a 15% drop the day before, which was driven by President Tayyip Erdoan’s defense of rate cuts.

Before falling to 13.1500 against $1, the lira fell back down to 13.05 GMT. The lira fell to 13.45 Tuesday.

In 11 sessions consecutively, the currency hit new lows, taking its losses to 43% since the start the year and a nearly 24% drop since last week.

Erdogan has defended the central bank’s money policy, and vowed to win the “economic war for independence”, but there are many critics from others calling for actions to reverse the slide of the currency. This includes top economists.

The central bank did not hint at any intervention needed to stop the meltdown. On Tuesday, the central bank stated that it couldn’t intervene unless there was “excessive volatilty”.

According to Hakan Kara, the official inflation rate could rise by 30% to 35% with today’s current exchange rate. “With the current deposit rates, this would mean a real rate of interest of -15%,” Hakan Kara (NYSE:) wrote in a tweet.

“If necessary measures are not taken immediately, the financial system will be unable to cope with it,” he said.

Erdogan is urging the central bank to shift to an aggressive easing cycle. He claims this will boost exports and investment, and create jobs. However, Erdogan’s inflation rate has soared to nearly 20%, and currency depreciation acceleration accelerates. This is a significant blow to Turks’ earnings.

Many economists called rate cuts dangerous while the opposition parties called for instant elections. Reuters heard from Turks that the sudden collapse of the currency was causing them to have their plans and budgets disrupted.

The bank made a statement after Erdogan met with Sahap Kavcioglu the central bank governor. It stated that the selloff was unrealistic and “completely detached” from economic fundamentals.

Tuesday’s slip was the biggest since 2018’s currency crisis. It caused a deep recession that resulted in three years’ subpar economic growth, double-digit inflation and a drastic slide of the lira.

Since September, the central bank has cut rates by 400 points. This leaves real yields in a deep negative. Virtually all central banks are already tightening to combat rising inflation or are planning to.