Economists expect interest rates to drop in Turkey

By Murat Aslan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Economists expect the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) to drop interest rates, according to an Anadolu Agency survey on Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will hold a meeting on Thursday for the sixth time this year to announce the bank's decision on interest rates.

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

In the previous meeting, the MPC decided to cut interest rates by 425 basis points from 24% to 19.75%.

After Thursday's meeting, the bank will hold two more committee meetings this year.

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

*Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun