ANKARA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish lira on Wednesday slumped to a record low of 5.0 against the U.S. dollar as the U.S. sanctioned two ministers of Turkish government over the continued detention of an U.S. pastor.
The lira lost over 1.6 percent of its value against the dollar after Washington's sanction was announced, breaking the symbolic line of 5.0 against dollar for the first time in history.
The U.S. Department of Treasury on Wednesday slapped sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers, citing their roles in the detention of a U.S. pastor named Andrew Brunson.
A Turkish court on Tuesday rejected Brunson's appeal to be released from house arrest during his trial on terrorism charges, after allowing to move Brunson from prison to house arrest last week.
Turkish lira has lost more than a fifth of its value against the dollar and the euro since the beginning of this year, as a comprehensive result of recorded inflation and diplomatic rows with the west.
