The Central Bank of Turkey kept the key interest rate unchanged at 14%, and the decision comes after cutting rates over the past four months by a percentage point per month.
This came in a statement following the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Turkey, headed by the Governor of the Bank, Shihab Cavusoglu, in the capital, Ankara.
Inflation rose last month to 36%, a 19-year high.
The bank said that it will monitor the impact of its previous decisions on monetary policy, and expected that the decline in inflation will begin soon, in order to achieve sustainable stability in prices and markets.
The statement stated that the current account is expected to achieve a surplus in the current year, noting that the continued improvement in the balance is an important factor in achieving the goal of price stability.
As a result of the Central Bank’s decision, the Turkish lira rose directly by 1% today, Thursday, and in total, the currency is still stable at levels close to 13.40 lira per dollar.
The statement stressed that the Central Bank will firmly continue to use all the tools available to it until strong indicators appear indicating a permanent decrease in inflation, and the 5% target is achieved in the medium term, in line with the main objective of price stability.
In a related context, the Turkish Central Bank announced - in another statement - an increase in its reserves by 104 million dollars on January 14, to reach 109 billion and 549 million dollars.