Turkey Central Bank Lowers Benchmark Interest Rate from 9.75% to 8.75% to Respond to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The Central Bank of Turkey cut its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point on the 22nd (local time).

According to Bloomberg News, the Central Bank of Turkey held a monetary policy committee meeting on the day and lowered the benchmark interest rate from 9.75% to 8.75%, a 1.0 percentage point cut. This marks the second consecutive month of a 1 percentage point rate cut following last month.

The market had expected the Central Bank of Turkey to cut the benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, but the bank adjusted the rate by twice that amount. The Central Bank of Turkey assessed that the global economic growth outlook has somewhat weakened due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Due to the recent plunge in international oil prices, Turkey's inflation rate announced on the day for last month fell to 11.9%, dropping for the first time since October of last year. Earlier, Murat Uysal, Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, stated on the 19th that the decline in commodity prices and the global pandemic situation have put downward pressure on inflation through reduced domestic demand.

Amid the impact of COVID-19, the value of the Turkish lira against the dollar has fallen by 15% compared to the beginning of the year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.