ANKARA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's central bank on Thursday kept its interest rate unchanged at 50 percent, saying that the monetary policy decisions in March have led to a significant tightening in financial conditions.
"Considering the lagged effects of the monetary tightening, the committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged, but reiterated that it remains highly attentive to inflation risks," the bank said in a statement, adding that it will maintain the tight monetary stance until a significant and sustained decline in monthly inflation is observed.
Despite the ongoing decline, the underlying trend of monthly inflation in March was higher than expected, the statement said.
"While imports of consumer goods and gold contribute to the improvement in the current account balance, other recent indicators imply that domestic demand remains resilient. In addition to the high level of and the stickiness in services inflation, inflation expectations, geopolitical risks, and food prices keep inflationary pressures alive," it said.
In March, the central bank raised its one-week repo rate from 45 percent to 50 percent to address rising prices.
The inflation in Türkiye climbed to 68.5 percent in March and is expected to peak by mid-year before declining, according to official forecasts. ■
