Turkish Monetary Policy
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
April 20, 2016
The monetary policy committee announced a follow-up reduction of its overnight lending rate, this time of 50 basis points to 10.0%. As in March when such was lowered by 25 basis point, the other two central bank interest rates — a 7.5% one-week repo rate and a 7.25% overnight borrowing rate were not changed. The […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Narrows Overnight Interest Rate Corridor by 25 Basis Points
March 24, 2016
The 7.5% one-week repo rate and 7.5% overnight deposit rate were left unchanged, but the 10.75% overnight lending rate was cut to 10.5% at the latest meeting of Turkey’s Monetary Policy Committee. At a few previous meetings, officials had delayed a promised simplification of their Byzantine rate structure, but now a small first step in […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
February 23, 2016
The change in Turkish central bank interest rates was announced a year ago tomorrow. At that time, the one week repo rate and overnight borrowing rate were sliced by 25 basis points to 7.5%, and 7.25%, respectively, while the overnight lending rate was reduced 50 basis points to 10.75%. Those rate levels will be continue […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Holds its Fire
January 19, 2016
World financial market volatility did not simmer down after Turkey’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting on December 22, so policymakers did not act on the conditional promise expressed in that meeting’s statement to the public that said, “should the decline in volatility observed after the start of the global policy normalization persist, monetary policy simplification steps […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
June 23, 2015
Turkish monetary policy remains restrictive despite several rate cuts most recently in February when the one-week repo rate and overnight borrowing rate were sliced 25 basis points to 7.5% and 7.25%, respectively, while the overnight lending rate was cut 50 bps to 10.75%. In early 2014, those rates stood at 10.0%, 8.0%, and 12.0%. Monetary […] More
Turkish Monetary Officials Reluctant to Cut Rates Amid Heightened Risks
May 20, 2015
Monetary Policy Committee members chose to leave the central bank’s one-week repo rate at 7.5%, the overnight lending rate at 10.75%, and the overnight borrowing rate at 7.25%. Consumer prices rose 7.9% in the year to April. A statement released after today’s policy meeting sets a more cautious tone than government officials seek: Recently elevated […] More
Weaker Dollar Especially against the Ozzie and Sterling
April 22, 2015
The Australian dollar has risen 1.2% against its U.S. counterpart, buoyed by Aussie first-quarter CPI data that showed core inflation falling no further and remaining above 2.0% target floor. Sterling was lifted 0.7% against the dollar by Bank of England April 8-9 minutes that revealed not only a unanimous 9-0 vote for no change but […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
March 17, 2015
Monetary officials in Turkey have been subjected to relentless pressure from the autocratic Prime Minister Erdogan to reduce interest rates more quickly. Selling pressure on the lira had lifted inflation, forcing the central bank to jack up its one-week repo rate by 550 basis points to 10% in January 2014. At that time, too, the […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Cuts Main Interest Rate to 7.75% from 8.25%
January 20, 2015
Monetary officials were not expected to extended monetary easing, which had been paused since August, quite this soon, and the overnight borrowing and lending rates of 7.5% and 11.25% were not also adjusted at this time. A released statement expresses more optimism about CPI inflation, which fell to 8.17% last month from nearly 9%, noting […] More
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
November 20, 2014
Turkey’s 8.25% one-week repo rate, 11.5% overnight lending rate, and 7.5% overnight borrowing rate were kept unchanged for a third straight monthly meeting. During meetings in May-July, they had respectively been lowered by 175 bps, 75 bps, and 50 bps, but officials are now resisting government pressure to ease, pledging instead to not do so […] More
