Survey: Turkey Cbank to keep interest rates steady

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 8.25% for the fourth month in a row, according to a panel of economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency on Monday.

The ninth Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year will be held on Thursday to announce the bank's decision on interest rates.

Among 27 economists, just four economists expect a rise in interest rates, ranging between 0.50 percentage points and 1.50 percentage points.

The survey also showed that economists' average year-end interest rate forecast is 9%, ranging from 8.25% to 9.75%.

Last month, the Central Bank kept its one-week repo rate – also known as the bank's policy rate – constant at 8.25%, keeping it unchanged for the third straight month.

Since the beginning of this year, the bank has cut the rate by a total of 375 basis points from 12%.

Last year, in eight meetings, the bank cut the rate by a total of 1,200 basis points, from 24%.

After holding eight meetings last year, this year the bank boosted the number of MPC meetings to 12.