Erdogan tells Turks to buy plunging lira as Trump doubles metals tariffs

President Tayyip Erdogan told Turks on Friday to exchange gold and dollars into lira as the country's currency plunged as much as 14 percent on worries about his influence over monetary policy and worsening relations with the United States.

US President Donald Trump said he had authorized higher tariffs on imports from Turkey, imposing a 20 percent duty on aluminium and 50 percent one on steel.

Trump noted on Twitter that the lira "slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!" "Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!" he said in an early morning post.

Waves from the crisis spread abroad, with investors selling off shares in European banks with large exposure to the Turkish economy.

New Finance Minister Berat Albayrak - Erdogan's son-in-law - acknowledged that the central bank's independence was critical for the economy,...