Turkey’s Central Bank lowers interest rates 425 bps

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - The Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) on Thursday lowered its one-week repo rate 425 basis points.

The bank's policy rate -- also known as one-week repo rate -- fell to 19.75%, a steep down from 24%.

"Recently released data indicate a moderate recovery in the economic activity," the CBRT said.

The decision came in a statement from the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting -- the fifth of eight meetings scheduled for 2019.

"Goods and services exports continue to display an upward trend despite the weakening in the global economic outlook, indicating improved competitiveness.

"In particular, strong tourism revenues support the economic activity through direct and indirect channel," the bank said.

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