ISTANBUL – Turkey’s central bank is signalling that it is preparing to reverse course and raise interest rates to address higher inflation and a dropping currency.
The bank was holding an extraordinary meeting Tuesday and was expected to announce higher rates in a statement overnight.
Ahead of the announcement, Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci said in a press conference that the bank was revising its inflation forecasts upward.
Basci also said that the bank was prepared to adjust interest rates, a move it had resisted as the Turkish lira has hit almost daily historic lows recently against major currencies. Following Basci’s press conference the lira strengthened from almost 2.4 to the dollar to just over 2.26.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently railed against higher interest rates.
