CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE IN FIRST EASING SINCE JANUARY
The Central Bank cut its benchmark policy rate by 100 basis points to 36% on Oct. 22, its first monetary easing since January, in line with market expectations.
Analysis
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The Central Bank cut its benchmark policy rate by 100 basis points to 36% on Oct. 22, its first monetary easing since January, in line with market expectations.
The central bank has resumed one-week repo auctions after a nearly six-month pause, an operational shift that effectively lowers market funding costs and paves the way for official policy rate cuts.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% during its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on July 23, matching market expectations. However, business leaders are increasingly complaining about high borrowing costs, tight credit restrictions, and falling industrial output.
Most market participants expect the central bank to keep the policy rate unchanged at 37% when it meets on July 23, but pressure is building for a cut and some experts are calling for a wholesale shift in monetary policy.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% for the third consecutive meeting on June 11, matching the consensus forecast of economists. The Monetary Policy Committee also held its overnight lending rate at 40% and its borrowing rate at 35.5%. The central bank last altered its policy rate in January with a 100-basis-point cut.
The central bank kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 37% on April 22, meeting the expectations of most analysts. The decision comes following intensified criticism of both the bank and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, 59, from the business world and media outlets close to the government.