Turkish lira firms after decline on interest rate shock

The Turkish lira stabilized against the dollar today, Friday, after approaching record lows in the previous session, as the Turkish Central Bank shocked the markets by reducing the interest rate to 13%.

By 0438 GMT, the currency was stable at 18.1, almost unchanged from Thursday’s close when it briefly reached 18.15, its weakest level since Dec. 20, after the sudden interest rate cut.

According to “Reuters”, the Turkish central bank cut the interest rate by 100 basis points, saying it needs to continue to drive economic growth despite inflation rising to nearly 80% and a global trend among other central banks to tighten policies.