Türkiye hikes policy interest rate 500 points, matching forecasts

The Central Bank of Türkiye on Thursday raised its policy rate by 500 basis points to 30%, meeting market forecasts.

Economists polled by Anadolu survey last week said they expected a 500-basis-point interest rate hike, with the lowest estimate at 250 basis points and the highest at 600.

At its August meeting, the bank hiked its policy interest rate 750 basis points to 25%. It pledged to continue the monetary tightening process to help bring down inflation.

According to the latest data from TurkStat, Türkiye's annual inflation rose to 58.94% in August, up from 47.8% in July.

After the appointment of Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, the bank ended its 27-month monetary easing cycle and on Thursday raised rates for the fourth consecutive meeting.