Lira surges after Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rates

Turkey’s Monetary Policy Committee raised the one-week repo rate to 19 percent from 17 percent on Thursday.

Turkey’s central bank resumed raising interest rates after surging oil prices and lira volatility sent inflationary risks climbing. The lira surged. The Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Naci Agbal lifted the one-week repo rate to 19% from 17% on Thursday, beating the 100-basis-points hike predicted in a Bloomberg survey of 24 analysts. Considering the upside risks to inflation expectations, the bank has decided “to implement a front-loaded and strong additional monetary tightening,” it said in a statement accompanying its decision.