- The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has raised its policy interest rate from 17.5% to 25%.
- This increase is higher than market expectations, marking the first time in a long time that the CBRT has made such a significant rate hike.
- This is the third time the CBRT has raised interest rates under the leadership of Hafize Gaye Erkan.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) has made a significant move by increasing its policy interest rate from 17.5% to 25%, surpassing market expectations. This is the third time the bank has raised its rates under the leadership of Hafize Gaye Erkan.
Third Rate Hike Under Hafize Gaye Erkan’s Leadership
The CBRT’s Monetary Policy Committee announced the eagerly awaited decision to raise the policy interest rate to 25%, marking the third rate hike under Hafize Gaye Erkan’s leadership. This move exceeded market expectations, which had anticipated a rate increase to 20%.
Prior to Erkan’s tenure, the Monetary Policy Committee had kept the policy rate steady at 8.5% for three months. The first rate hike under Erkan’s leadership occurred in June, when the policy rate was raised from 8.5% to 15%.
Bitcoin’s Performance Against the Turkish Lira
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has been trading mostly above the 26,000 level since last weekend, despite losing over 10% of its value against the US dollar last week. As of the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at 26,444, up 1.77% on the day.
On the Binance exchange, Bitcoin is up 1.95% on the day against the Turkish lira, trading at 729,325. While it’s still unclear what direction Bitcoin will take following the CBRT’s latest rate hike, experts believe a new record could be set soon.
Bitcoin reached an all-time high against the Turkish lira on December 20, 2021, when it hit 852,499. It came close to this record on June 30, when it reached 837,297. However, Bitcoin’s value loss against the US dollar has led to a pullback against the Turkish lira, delaying expectations of a new record for the time being.
