Stocks in Czech Republic Hit All-time High

The Central Bank of Turkey held its benchmark policy rate at 37% in its March 2026 meeting, aligned with recently revised market consensus as the central bank was widely expected to continue cutting interest rates until the outbreak of war in the Middle East triggered a surge in energy prices and raised the outlook inflation for major economies. It was the first hold following five consecutive cuts, reflecting policymakers' heed to the impact that higher energy prices may have on the Turkish economy. The central bank had already been forced to intervene in foreign exchange markets earlier in the month to contain the slide in the lira, and suspended one-week repo auctions, which lifted the lira interbank overnight reference rate by 300bps to nearly 40%. The central bank continued to see underlying inflation as stable as of February, and signaled it will see the impact of geopolitical developments on the economy before deciding possible policy responses.

The Central Bank of Turkey cut its benchmark policy rate by one percentage point to 37% in its first meeting of 2026, less than the median market expectations of a 1.5 percentage point cut, but still marking the lowest rate since November of 2023. The central bank noted that the underlying inflation trend softened in the end of last year despite the increase in the headline rate due to higher food prices, warranting a slight reduction in tight monetary conditions. Still, policymakers stressed that upside risks to inflation remain, as unpredictable pricing behaviour and elevated inflation expectations continued to pose risks to the disinflation process.

The Central Bank of Turkey cut its policy rate to 38% from 39.5% in December 2025, marking a fourth consecutive reduction, and by more than market expectations of a softer cut to 38.5%, amid softer-than-expected November inflation. Food prices came in lower than projections, helping ease the underlying inflation trend for a second month. The bank also reduced its overnight lending and borrowing rates to 41% and 36.5%, respectively. Despite improving demand conditions and a slight cooling in price pressures, the Monetary Policy Committee warned that inflation expectations and pricing behavior still threaten the disinflation path. It reaffirmed that tight monetary policy will continue until price stability is secured, with rate decisions made cautiously and guided by data. The bank aims to steer inflation toward its 5% medium-term target, even as annual inflation at 31.1% in November remains well above the 24% year-end goal.