Turkey slashes interest rates by 150 basis points despite inflation at 83%
WORLD MARKETS
Turkey slashes interest rates by 150 basis points despite inflation at 83%
PUBLISHED THU, OCT 20 2022 | 7:11 AM EDT | UPDATED 35 MIN AGO
Natasha Turak
@NATASHATURAK
KEY POINTS
Market analysts expected a 100 basis-point cut, so the move still managed to take many by surprise despite the increasing regularity of Turkeys slashing of interest rates.
The Turkish lira touched an all-time low following the news at 18.615 to the dollar, down 50% against the greenback in the last full year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan espouses the unorthodox belief that raising interest rates increases inflation, rather than the other way around.
Turkeys central bank slashed its key interest rate by 150 basis points for the third consecutive month of cuts on Thursday, from 12% to 10.5% despite Turkish inflation at more than 83%.
Market analysts expected a 100 basis-point cut, so the move still managed to take many by surprise despite the increasing regularity of Turkeys interest rate cuts. Consumer prices for the country of 84 million people climbed to a new 24-year high of 83.45% in September, though many people living in Turkey say prices for basic goods have in some cases more than tripled in the past year.
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