Turkey Central Bank Holds Key Rate At 50%

(RTTNews) - Turkey's central bank decided to leave its benchmark rate unchanged on Thursday, as expected, and underscored the need to maintain the tight monetary stance.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, or CBRT, governed by Yasar Fatih Karahan decided to maintain the policy rate at 50.0 percent.

Earlier, the bank had hiked the policy rate by a sharp 500 basis points in March.

"Considering the lagged effects of the monetary tightening, the Committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged, but reiterated that it remains highly attentive to inflation risks," the bank said.

After taking into account the recent developments in credit growth and deposits, additional steps will be taken to preserve the macro financial stability, the bank said.

The excess liquidity stemming from the surging domestic and foreign demand for Turkish lira financial assets will be sterilized through additional measures, the bank said in the statement.

The bank also terminated the securities maintenance practice to simplify the macroprudential framework and enhance the functionality of the market mechanism.

Capital Economics' economist Liam Peach said inflation is likely to reach a peak at around 75 percent in May and the central bank is confident that it will end the year at 38 percent.

The economist said interest rate cuts are still some way off, particularly given the strength of economic activity so far this year and the upside risks to the inflation outlook.