Turkish lira hits two-month high on hopes of mending US ties

The Turkish lira jumped to a two-month high Monday on hopes of a thaw in relations between Ankara and Washington.

The lira was trading at 5.7757 against the U.S. dollar on Monday — a level not seen since mid-August. By market close, the dollar-lira exchange rate stood at 5.7830, down from Friday's closing rate of 5.9320.

The euro/lira rate also showed a steep decline -- standing at 6.7020 versus 6.8510 at the previous close -- and one British pound exchanged for 7.6080 compared to 7.8240 at Friday's close.

Meanwhile, Turkey's BIST 100 stock index rose 2.04 percent, led by a rally in banking shares ahead of a central bank meeting next week.

Starting the week at 97,346.96 points, the BIST 100 index went up 1,973.85 points from last week's close of 96,657.42 points. For a third consecutive business day, the BIST 100 closed the day in the green, as it rose by 0.32 percent on Thursday and 2.02 percent on Friday.

One ounce of gold was sold for $1,225.00 at Monday's close in Borsa Istanbul's Precious Metals and Diamond Markets, while the price was $1,221.00 at the previous close.

The price of Brent oil was around $80.58 per barrel as of 6 p.m. local time (1500GMT), hovering between $79.86 and $81.86 during Monday's trading. Since the beginning of this year, the Brent oil price has risen from $66 a barrel.

The lira's gain corresponded with the release and return of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, offering relief to the currency that has shed more than 35 percent in value this year.

The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 6.04 during the first two weeks of October, 6.38 last month, and 5.74 in August.

Hosting Brunson in the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said his release was "a tremendous step" in American-Turkish relationship.

"We have a chance of really becoming much closer to Turkey, and maybe even having a very, very good relationship," Trump said.

Turkey and the U.S. have been locked in a heated crisis over Brunson, as Washington levied sanctions on Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports over the detention of the American pastor.

Brunson was arrested in December 2016 and charged in the Aegean province of Izmir with being a member of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind a defeated coup earlier that year.

After being transferred from jail to house arrest this July, Brunson on Friday was sentenced to just over three years in prison, but released due to time served and his good behavior in custody.

The charges against him included spying for both FETÖ and the PKK, a group recognized as terrorist by the U.S. and EU, which is responsible for some 40,000 deaths in Turkey, including women and children.