Turkey’s central bank slashes interest rate by 425 bps

The bank's policy rate, known as one-week repo rate, fell to 19.75 percent, down from 24 percent.

Turkey's Central Bank seen in a file photo,
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Turkey's Central Bank seen in a file photo,

The Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) on Thursday lowered its one-week repo rate by 425 basis points.

The bank's policy rate, known as one-week repo rate, fell to 19.75 percent, down from 24 percent.

"Recently released data indicate a moderate recovery in the economic activity," the CBRT announced.

The decision came in a statement from the bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, the fifth of eight meetings scheduled for 2019.

"Goods and services exports continue to display an upward trend despite weakening in the global economic outlook, indicating improved competitiveness.

In particular, strong tourism revenues support the economic activity through direct and indirect channel," the bank said.

In 2018, the bank held nine MPC meetings, as interest rates climbed from 8 percent to 24 percent over the course of the year.

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