Turkish currency hits new historic low of 3 lira to dollar

Turkey's embattled lira on Thursday hit a new historic low in value against the US dollar, breaking the ceiling of three lira to the dollar for the first time.

The currency hit 3.0031 lira to the dollar in early morning trade, according to Bloomberg data, before rallying very slightly to 2.99 to the greenback -- a loss in value of 2.25 percent on the day so far. The Turkish currency has now declined 10.65 percent against the dollar over the last month, and 27.88 percent since the start of the year. Investors have been rattled by the political uncertainty and prospect of early elections after the government failed to win an overall majority in June 7 legislative polls. The steep fall in value Thursday morning appeared to have been triggered by an announcement by Turkey's election board that new polls could be held as early as November 1. The government is also waging an unprecedented two-pronged "anti-terror" operation against jihadists in Syria and Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, further rattling investors.