Turkish CB may cut benchmark rate to historic single figures
Hurriyet Daily News with wires
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Eight of 14 participants in a survey conducted by CNBC-e, say the central bank could reduce its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 10 percent, from its current 10.5 percent.
Another analyst however argues that the cut could be as high as 100 points, bringing the rate into single digits for the first time in the bank’s history, as
When the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meets later on Thursday it may reduce the rate by 100 basis points to 9.5 percent, Bloomberg reported economist Christian Keller and rates analyst, Arko Sen, from Barclays Capital as saying.
"Revisions of the official macro forecasts to more realistic numbers in preparation for the final negotiations of an IMF program and the prospects for the request of an IMF mission within this week have now tilted the balance in favor of a larger-than-50 basis point cut," they said.
The Turkish government revised down its economic growth forecast on April 13, estimating a 3.6 percent contraction for 2009. Earlier forecasts had estimated the Turkish economy would grow by 4 percent in 2009.
The central bank revised interest rates for a fifth consecutive time when the Monetary Policy Committee met last in March, cutting a total 6.25 percent from the benchmark rate.
