Turkiye Central Bank expected to hike interest rates in policy reversal

Turkish Lira

21 June 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's Central Bank is expected to raise its benchmark policy rate sharply on Thursday, in a strong signal that re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted some steps toward monetary tightening to combat inflation, Daily Sabah reports.

According to the report, the expected policy pivot, under new Central Bank chief, Hafize Gaye Erkan, comes amid stubborn inflation that had hit a 24-year high of 85.5 per cent in October, before more than halving and lastly declining to below 40 per cent last month.

Erdogan reshuffled his economic team after re-election last month, bringing in Mehmet Simsek, the respected veteran policymaker, as Treasury and Finance Minister, and Erkan, a former Wall Street banker, as Central Bank Governor.