The U.S. dollar gained as much as 5.5 percent against the Turkish lira after a group within Turkey's military apparently attempted to overthrow the government on Friday.
The dollar was last up 4.72 percent against the lira.
The apparent incidents immediately piqued interest across the world, as Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said a group within Turkey's military had attempted to overthrow the government and security forces had been called in to "do what is necessary."
The lira also plummeted against the euro, trading as much as 5 percent lower in afternoon trade. The euro hit a low of $1.1021 against the dollar.
Earlier, the greenback rose to a three-week high against the and was set for its biggest weekly gain against the Japanese currency in 17 years after strong U.S. and Chinese economic data diminished the appetite for the yen as a haven from risk.
The dollar rose to 106.30 yen, its strongest level since June 24, in Asian trade. It had retreated from those gains before a strong report on U.S. retail sales sent it back toward session highs.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.6 percent in June, strongly outpacing the 0.1 percent rise expected by economists. It was the third straight monthly increase and lifted sales 2.7 percent from a year ago.
Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at Oanda in Toronto said the data was a positive indication for consumer demand. "That's leading the market to consider re-pricing potential (interest rate) hikes again."
Fed funds futures showed investors see an increased likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise the nation's overnight interest rates this year. Chances for a rate increase by December rose to 46 percent on Friday, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. Traders had priced in less than a 20-percent chance as recently as late June.
For the week, the dollar has rallied 5.3 percent against the yen, putting it on track for its largest weekly rise since February 1999, as expectations of significant stimulus from Japan weighed on the yen.
Speculation has grown since former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke visited the Bank of Japan earlier this week. The visit fueled talk BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda might provide "helicopter money," which would involve the central bank directly financing government spending.
The yen also fell against other major currencies, slipping 0.15 percent against the euro and 0.76 percent against the British pound.
Data from China overnight showed growth. Industrial output and retail sales all beat forecasts, indicating there was some resilience in the economy.
Sterling retreated from a two-week high of $1.3481 against the dollar, after the Bank of England's chief economist, Andrew Haldane, said the Bank needed to act "promptly as well as muscularly" to stimulate the economy. It was still on pace for its largest weekly rise since October 2009.
The pound had risen after the BoE kept rates on hold on Thursday, surprising investors who had expected a rate cut following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.