Turkey

Turkey’s headline inflation saw the sharpest drop in nearly two years in July, a slowdown largely due to base effects that officials may overlook as they focus on more immediate risks to prices, Bloomberg News reported. Data on Monday showed headline inflation slipped to 61.8% in July, from 71.6% the previous month. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 62%. Monthly price growth, the central bank’s preferred gauge, came in at 3.23% after a gain of 1.64% in June, more than estimated by analysts.

Turkey’s central bank said it’s focusing attention on a build-up of lira liquidity as it extended its interest-rate pause into a fourth month, Bloomberg News reported. The Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Fatih Karahan, left the one-week repo rate at 50% on Tuesday. It repeated that the sterilization of liquidity “will be implemented effectively” with additional tools, with state media reporting that the authority is preparing to use foreign exchange and gold swaps to mop up excess liras.

Turkey’s central bank said it’s focusing attention on a build-up of lira liquidity as it extended its interest-rate pause into a fourth month, Bloomberg News reported. The Monetary Policy Committee, led by Governor Fatih Karahan, left the one-week repo rate at 50% on Tuesday, in line with the forecasts of all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. It repeated that the sterilization of liquidity “will be implemented effectively” with additional tools “whenever needed.” The price of 10-year lira government bonds rose, sending the yield down 28 basis points to 27.78% as of 4:16 p.m. in Istanbul.

Turkey’s central bank will probably focus on draining excess lira liquidity and alternative tightening measures as it looks to keep interest rates on pause for a fourth straight month, Bloomberg News reported. With official borrowing costs unlikely to rise further, policymakers have turned their attention to the side effects of their efforts to replenish foreign-exchange reserves that resulted in billions of liras being pumped into the economy.

Turkey’s central bank governor delivered his most emphatic message yet to foreign investors worried about premature easing, saying he wants to ensure he can meet inflation goals beyond this year before discussing interest-rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported. “Any actions we take on policy rates should be calibrated so as to hit the inflation target in 2025 and beyond,” Fatih Karahan told Bloomberg in the first sitdown interview he’s given since being appointed more than five months ago.

The Turkish central bank kept rates on hold for a third meeting straight, setting its stall on lower inflation in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported. The bank’s policy committee said Thursday that it would leave its benchmark one-week repo rate at 50.00%, a decision widely expected by economists. The bank last year embarked on a succession of rate-hikes, marking a divergence from a previous policy—encouraged by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—of keeping rates low despite rapid price inflation in the Anatolian republic.

Turkey’s central bank is set to stick with an interest-rate pause that’s likely to last through much of the year or even beyond, engineering a slowdown in the economy to lower one of the world’s highest levels of inflation, Bloomberg News reported. Rate hikes that began a year ago have taken until now to become a drag on the economy, in part because more restrictive financial conditions were out of sync with the generous fiscal measures such as wage hikes enacted by the government.

Turkish food delivery startup Getir has agreed to a restructure that will split the business and bring in a $250 million capital injection led by Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., Bloomberg News reported. Mubadala will lead the round and take a controlling stake in Getir’s domestic grocery and food business in Turkey, according to a statement from Getir on Monday. Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer Nazim Salur will be replaced by Getir’s Turkey head Batuhan Gultakan. The restructure follows a power struggle between Salur and Mubadala.

Turkey is considering taxing proceeds from investments in stocks and cryptoassets as part of a fiscal tightening push. Stocks and the lira fell on the news, Bloomberg News reported. Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek discussed the plans during a ruling-party meeting over the weekend, AK Party officials told Bloomberg, asking not to be identified as the discussions were private. Simsek emphasized the need for proper taxation of all financial income during the meeting, the people said. Turkey cut the tax rate on profits from stock-market trading to 0% from 10% in 2008.

Turkey’s inflation accelerated more than forecast last month, in what officials hope marks the worst of a yearslong cost-of-living crisis, Bloomberg News reported. Data on Monday showed inflation reached an annual 75.5% in May, from just under 70% a month earlier. Monthly price growth, the central bank’s preferred gauge, also quickened and hit 3.4%. Both readings exceeded the median economist predictions. “Annual inflation reached its cyclical peak in May,” said Muhammet Mercan, ING Bank’s chief economist for Turkey.