The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira (TL) exchange rate dropped to TL 3.5140 Friday, marking the lowest level it has seen this year.

In recent weeks, the Turkish lira has been hovering at an exchange rate of about 3.53 TL for U.S. dollar, but it fell to the lowest level since December 27, 2016 after U.S. nonfarm employment data was revealed.

The nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. reportedly increased by 138,000 in May, well below the expectation of 182,000, which caused the U.S. dollar to depreciate against other currencies and commodities in the global markets.

Analysts said that the nonfarm employment data, which was below expectations, met the expectations of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) that the increase in interest rates would take longer than anticipated, which in turn caused the U.S. dollar to depreciate.