ANKARA, Oct 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Turkish central bank, cut the benchmark rate by 1.5 percentage points to 10.5 percent yesterday, a major decrease this year, despite high inflation.
“It is critically important that financial conditions remain supportive, to preserve the growth momentum in industrial production, and the positive trend in employment in a period of increasing uncertainties, regarding global growth, as well as, a further escalation of geopolitical risks,” said a statement by the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Accordingly, the committee decided to reduce the policy rate by 150 basis points, the statement said.
The bank signalled that, a similar rate cut would be made next month (November), and that the interest rate reduction cycle would come to an end.
“The Committee evaluated taking a similar step in the following meeting and ending the rate cut cycle,” it said.
The bank had kept the interest rate at 14 percent for eight months, and lowered it by one percentage point each in Aug and Sept, while Türkiye’s annual inflation hit 83.45 percent in Sept, the highest in 24 years.
After the dramatic plummet in 2021, the lira lost some 55 percent against the U.S. dollar, since the Turkish central bank embarked on its easing cycle, making it one of the worst-performing currencies over the period.– NNN-XINHUA
