Turkey cuts rates aggressively putting lira under more pressure

Turkey cuts rates aggressively putting lira under more pressure

While the central bank acknowledged the depreciating currency, which has tumbled 15 percent this year, it stressed the need to keep credit flowing and to respond to sliding oil prices as it once again cut interest rates by 100 basis points.. Marking its eighth straight rate cut, Turkey's central bank lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate from 9.75%, extending an aggressive easing cycle that has seen it fall 1,525 basis points in less than a year, beyond most analyst forecasts.. The lira hit its weakest level since August 2018 - at the peak of Turkey's currency crisis - touching 6.999 to the dollar, or around 0.25 percent weaker on the day.. The bank added that inflation would probably fall short of its year-end forecast of 8.2 percent.. It has since declined and stood at 11.86 percent in March, well above the policy rate, meaning lira depositors face a negative rate of return.. As Carrefour hypermarkets are busier than ever, the company that owns the chain says it will not furlough staff. DUBAI: One of the biggest private employers in the Middle East has no plans to cut salaries or lay off any of its 44,000 workers, but the pandemic is