Interest rate

Turkey's lira weakened on April 8 after a presidential aide said its level justified an interest rate cut, increasing the political pressure on the central bank to cut rates.

Cemil Ertem told state broadcaster TRT Haber that the Turkish Lira, still not far off a record low hit last year, was in a "strong position" against the U.S. dollar.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek has said those who say interest rates are high are right, but the main problem is how to reduce rates without creating permanent problems.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet ?im?ek has said those who say interest rates are high are right, but the main problem is how to reduce rates without creating permanent problems.

Turkey's central bank decided to take a measured step toward simplification as global volatility eased to some extent, reducing the need for a wide interest rate corridor, the bank said on March 25.

According to the bank, improvement in the underlying core inflation trend remains limited, necessitating the maintenance of a tight liquidity stance.      

The Central Bank announced on March 24 that it would hold key interest rates at their current levels, apart from the marginal funding rate.

?? Bank chair Ersin Özince has called Turkey's rising inflation rate "ill-gotten," adding that Turkish people need to fight to overcome the "inflation lobby," referring to debates on the "interest rate lobby" in the Turkish economy. 

Because of expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserves (Fed) will delay rate hikes and the European Central Bank will lower rates, an optimistic atmosphere is dominant in global markets. When small scale drops in the inflation rate are added to this, then we see that this atmosphere is also dominant in domestic markets.
 

The Central Bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.5 percent again on Feb. 23, raising concerns amid a continuing rise of inflation rates. 

It also kept its overnight borrowing rate at 7.25 percent and its overnight lending rate at 10.75 percent, according to statement on the bank's website.

The Bank of Japan on Jan. 29 said it will charge lenders that leave too much cash on idle deposit with it, introducing a negative interest rate policy for the first time as it seeks to shore up a stumbling economic recovery.

The Turkish Lira slumped after Turkey's Central Bank held interest rates unchanged in an unexpected move, as the bank had been expected to lift rates following the rate hike move from the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed). 

The lira weakened to 2.9474 against the U.S. dollar after the bank's rate decision, while it had been trading around the 2.91 level before the meeting.