Türkiye keeps key interest rate unchanged at 50 pct

People withdraw money from ATMs in Ankara, Türkiye, on Nov. 21, 2024. Türkiye’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 50 percent on Thursday for the eighth straight month, in line with market expectations. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
ANKARA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) — Türkiye’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 50 percent on Thursday for the eighth straight month, in line with market expectations.
“The underlying trend of inflation registered a decline in October,” the bank said in a statement, but added that while inflation expectations and pricing behavior tend to improve, they continue to pose risks to the disinflation process.
The tight monetary stance will be maintained until a significant and sustained decline in the underlying trend of monthly inflation, and inflation expectations converge to the projected forecast range, the bank said.
Türkiye has been grappling with rising inflation and one of the worst cost-of-living crises in its history. From June 2023 to March this year, the central bank raised its key interest rate from 8.5 percent to 50 percent to tighten monetary policy and has kept the interest rate unchanged since March.
Türkiye’s annual inflation rate eased to 48.58 percent in October, according to the official data, still above the government forecasts.
Amid stubborn price pressures, the central bank earlier this month raised consumer inflation forecasts for this year and 2025, from previously 38 percent and 14 percent to 44 percent and 21 percent, respectively. ■

A teller shows banknotes at an exchange office in Ankara, Türkiye, on Nov. 21, 2024. Türkiye’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 50 percent on Thursday for the eighth straight month, in line with market expectations. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

People walk past Türkiye’s central bank in Ankara, Türkiye, on Nov. 21, 2024. Türkiye’s central bank held its key interest rate steady at 50 percent on Thursday for the eighth straight month, in line with market expectations. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)