Economists expect no change in Turkey's interest rates

By Murat Aslan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged next week, an Anadolu Agency survey found on Thursday.

Next Wednesday, the bank will hold its seventh Monetary Policy Committee meeting this year to announce its decision on interest rates.

All of the 15 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency forecast no change in interest rates.

The bank kept its one-week repo rate – the bank's policy rate – constant at 19% in the last three meetings, after raising it by 200 basis points in March.

The median of economists' expectations for the year-end policy rate was 17.50%, up from 16% in the previous survey period.

Meanwhile, Turkey posted a 17.53% annual hike in consumer prices in June.

The Turkish Central Bank's year-end inflation forecast for this year stands at 12.2%, while the government targets an 8% inflation rate under its new economic program.

*Writing and contributions by Aysu Bicer