Turkey: Economists expect no change in interest rates

By Erhan Cihan Unal

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates constant this week, according to an Anadolu Agency survey on Monday.

On Wednesday, the bank will hold its first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting this year to announce its decision about interest rates.

Last month, the bank kept its one-week repo rate -- also known as the bank's policy rate -- constant at 24 percent.

Among 19 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency, only one economist expects a 150-base-point decline, i.e. 1.50 percentage points, in one-week repo rate, while all the others foresee no change in interest rates.

According to its schedule, the bank will hold eight MPC meetings this year.

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

* With writing and contributions by Muhammed Ali Gurtas from Ankara