2020年经济学人 土耳其的货币动荡(1)

There seemed to be no end to the unusual measures Turkey would take to shore up the lira.

土耳其为支撑里拉而采取的非正常措施似乎没有尽头。

The government had made it prohibitively hard for foreigners to bet against the battered¹ currency.

政府使得外国人想要做空受重创的货币变得异常困难。

By the end of June the central bank had burned through $65bn in foreign reserves to protect it,

截止至六月底，央行已动用650亿美元外汇储备来保护里拉，

in effect pegging² it to the dollar for the past couple of months.

实际上，是在过去几个月里让里拉钉住美元。

On August 6th, however, the bank gave up and allowed the lira to float. It promptly³ sank.

但在8月6日，央行放弃了该策略，并允许里拉浮动。里拉当即暴跌。

The currency fell by more than 3% during the day, reaching a record low.

一天内，里拉货币下跌超过3%，达到历史最低值。

Turkey may now be facing a repeat of the crisis of 2018, when a standoff with America, a credit boom and a bulging⁴ current-account deficit⁵

现在土耳其可能正面临着2018年危机的重演，当时土耳其和美国关系陷入僵局，信贷繁荣和膨胀的收支往来帐户赤字

forced the central bank to impose towering interest rates in order to prevent a currency meltdown.

迫使央行提高利率，防止货币危机。

Its monetary-policy board meets on August 20th. But the bank is even less independent than it was in 2018.

其货币政策委员会将于8月20日会面。但央行的独立性甚至不如2018年。

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sacked its previous governor for refusing to slash⁶ rates.

土耳其总统雷杰普·塔伊普·埃尔多安解雇了不愿削减利率的前行长。

His successor is highly unlikely to raise them without Mr Erdogan's permission.

没有埃尔多安的允许，他的接任者更不可能提高利率。

Another complication is that the bank's foreign-currency assets are depleted⁷. Gross assets dipped to $90bn in July.

另一个问题是央行的外币资产已经耗尽。七月，其总资产降至900亿美元。

Net assets, which deduct⁸ foreign liabilities and borrowing through currency swaps⁹ with local banks, stand at -$41bn.

扣除外债以及通过货币互换向本地银行的借款，净资产为负410亿美元。

"They have run out of ammunition," says Ozlem Derici Sengul of Spinn Consulting, an advisory¹⁰ group.

“他们已经弹尽粮绝了，”咨询公司Spinn Consulting的Ozlem Derici Sengul说到。

"If they continue like this, they may have no hard currency left."

“如果他们继续这样下去，他们可能就没剩下什么硬通货了。”

Turkey can still try to restore investors¹¹' confidence in its management of the lira and the economy.

土耳其仍然可以尝试恢复投资者对其管理里拉和经济的信心。

But no one is certain it is willing to do so. For now, the government has begun cutting the money supply through the back door.

但没人确定土耳其是否愿意这么做。目前，政府已经开始通过走后门，切断货币供应。

Earlier this year, in an attempt to soften¹² the blow from the covid-19 pandemic, state-run banks had flooded the market with cheap loans.

今年年初，为缓解新冠疫情对经济的冲击，国有银行向市场提供了大量的廉价贷款。

1 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

2 pegging   

n.外汇钉住，固定证券价格v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的现在分词 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• To write a novel,one must keep pegging away at it consistently. 要写小说，必须不断辛勤劳动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She was pegging the clothes out on the line to dry. 她正在把衣服夹在晒衣绳上晾干。 来自辞典例句

3 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

4 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

5 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

6 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

7 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

8 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

9 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

10 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。