Turkish Central Bank cuts interest rates by 150 bps in February
Posted by meb at February 19th, 2009
Turkish Central Bank cut its borrowing and lending rates by 150 basis points more than expectations, the Monetary Police Committee said in its post-meeting statement on Thursday.
The bank decided to cut borrowing rate by 150 basis points to 11.5 percent; and its lending rate by 150 basis points to 14 percent to boost slowing growth. Economists had forecasted the bank to reduce its rates by 50 basis points.
“The Committee decided to cut short-term interest rates by 150 basis points on the assessment that the year-end inflation rate will significantly be lower than the target,” the post-meeting statement said.
The bank cut the rates for the fourth consecutive time, while its previous cut was much more than expectations with 200 basis points.
The bank said the tight financial conditions continue despite the rate cuts and will continue to do what it can to limit the impacts of the problems in the international markets.
“There are still uncertainties regarding the extent of the impacts of the problems in the global financial markets on the manufacturing. The size and the timing of the future rate cuts will depend on the factors that effect the inflation outlook,” the statement added.
source: Hurriyet daily news
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