Breaking News Turkey with agencies
Türkiye’s Central Bank raised its one-week repo rate, also known as the policy rate, by 250 basis points on Thursday (July 20) to 17.5%, the highest level since October 2021.
The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee decided “to continue the monetary tightening process in order to establish the disinflation course as soon as possible, to anchor inflation expectations, and to control the deterioration in pricing behavior.”
In June, the bank had increased its policy rate by 650 basis points to 15% in the first hike in 27 months.
The rate had been 18% in September 2021 before being cut to 16% the next month.
The expectation was a 500-basis-point hike
According to a survey last week, economists expected a 500-basis-point interest rate hike, with the lowest estimate at 250 basis points and the highest at 650.
“The committee decided to continue the monetary tightening process in order to establish the disinflation course as soon as possible, to anchor inflation expectations and to control the deterioration in pricing behavior,” the Ankara-based body said on Thursday.
Appointed in June, Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former Wall Street banker, is leading the central bank.