Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Kabul Airport in a period when the U.S. has accelerated evacuation process to end on August 31. 13 U.S. service members and at least 60 Afghans have been killed in two bombing attacks outside Kabul’s airport, according to the Pentagon and Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health. An official from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health told CNN that 140 people were wounded. ISIS claimed the responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that there are no reports of damage or casualties of Turkish troops from explosions.
Deaths from the COVID-19 also draws a pessimistic picture in the country. The death toll rose to 257 while the number of daily coronavirus cases stood at below 20,000 in the last 24 hours. Over 91.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in total according to the Ministry of Health. Over 47.2 million people have received their first vaccine dose, while more than 36.1 million are fully vaccinated. The third booster shots have been given to over 8.1 million so far.
Looking at the money market, USD/TRY which closed the day at 8.38 yesterday, is traded at 8.39 this morning. EUR/TRY hovers around 9.86-9.88.
Oil prices increased on worries about near term supply disruptions as energy companies began shutting in production in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a potential hurricane forecast to hit on the weekend. Brent crude increased by 1.48% to USD 72.12 per barrel.
Although gold prices rose after investors headed towards safe harbor due to the worsening security in Afghanistan, the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech to deliver today is awaited. Spot gold surged by 0.6% to USD 1,803 per ounce, while weekly increase has reached 1%.
DAILY AGENDA
The Economic Confidence Index increased by 0.7% from 100.1 points to 100.8 points in August, compared to the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The Central Bank will release International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity figures for July.
