Turkish Central Bank lowers interest rates 325 bps

ANKARA

The Turkish Central Bank on Thursday lowered its one-week repo rate 325 basis points.

The bank's policy rate -- also known as the one-week repo rate -- fell from 19.75% to 16.50%.

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

On Tuesday, a group of 18 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency forecast an average drop of 250 basis points in the one-week repo rate, with the lowest estimate at 175 basis points, and the highest at 375.

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