Turkish Central Bank cuts year-end inflation forecast

The inflation rate will fluctuate between 11.5 percent and 16.3 percent through the end of this year, Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal said during Inflation Report 2019.

Turkish Central Bank decreased its food inflation forecast to 15 percent for this year, down from 16 percent in the previous report.
Reuters

Turkish Central Bank decreased its food inflation forecast to 15 percent for this year, down from 16 percent in the previous report.

Turkey's Central Bank on Wednesday cut its year-end inflation forecast for 2019 to 13.9 percent, down from 14.6 percent set in its previous report. 

The inflation rate will fluctuate between 11.5 percent and 16.3 percent through the end of this year, Central Bank Governor Murat Uysal said during Inflation Report 2019 presentation meeting held in the capital Ankara.

The bank kept inflation forecasts constant for next year and 2021 at 8.2 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The downward revision is driven by assumptions for lower food prices and Turkish Lira denominated import prices, and lower-than-projected inflation at the second quarter of this year and improvement in the underlying trend, he said. 

"Under a tight monetary policy stance and strong policy coordination focused on bringing inflation down, inflation is projected to converge gradually to the target of 5 percent," he said. 

Uysal underlined that the bank continues to use all available tools to ensure financial stability when necessary. 

The bank also decreased its food inflation forecast to 15 percent for this year, down from 16 percent in the previous report, Uysal said.

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