Turkey’s central bank keeps interest rates unchanged

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) on Wednesday announced it held the policy rate -- one-week repo auction rate -- constant at 24%.

The decision was announced in a statement following the bank's fourth Monetary Policy Committee (MCP) meeting. The bank will hold four more MCP meetings this year.

Recent data shows rebalancing trend in the economy has continued, the bank noted.

"External demand maintains its relative strength while economic activity displays a slow pace, partly due to tight financial conditions," it said.

The bank expected current account balance to maintain its improving trend.

On Monday, Anadolu Agency’s Finance Desk survey of 20 economists expected the bank to keep interest rates steady. Among them, four economists expect a decline in interest rates, varying between 0.50 percentage points and 1.50 percentage points.

In April, the CBRT kept its one-week repo rate -- also known as the bank's policy rate -- constant at 24%.

In 2018, the CBRT held nine MPC meetings, as interest rates climbed from 8% to 24% over the course of the year.