ANKARA, July 25 Reuters The Turkish lira slipped again on Monday, sustaining a slow slide towards 18 against the dollar as concerns mounted about the government39;s foreign exchange policy in the face of surging inflation and fears of global recession.

The slow depreciation could continue unless authorities find a new source of foreign funds to buffer depleted official reserves, analysts say. Adding to uncertainty over coming weeks, corporate depositors will decide whether to largely stick with special statebacked liraprotected accounts.

The lira weakened as much as 0.4 to 17.8335 against the U.S. currency, trading at its weakest levels since a fullblown currency crisis in December, when it hit an alltime low of 18.4.

We are seeing the lira losing limited value each day with the current policy. The balance in forex can only be achieved with the lira losing value, albeit limited, said a treasury desk trader at one bank.

The lira has steadily weakened 6.3 this month.

The Turkish Central Bank39;s quarterly inflation report on Thursday and the U.S. Federal Reserve39;s expected 75 basispoint interest rate hike on Wednesday were set to be key focuses of attention for investors this week.

On Thursday the Turkish central bank is expected to again raise its endyear inflation forecast from 42.8 previously. According to a Reuters poll, annual inflation is expected to be 70 by end2022. It hit a 24year high near 80 last month.

The rampant inflation was triggered by a series…