Central Bank announces interest rate decision

The Monetary Policy Committee reduced the one-week repo auction rate, which is the policy rate, by 250 basis points to 40.5 percent. At its previous meeting, the Bank lowered the policy rate from 46 percent to 43 percent.

In its statement, the Monetary Policy Committee emphasized that the underlying trend of inflation slowed in August, while growth in the second quarter exceeded expectations and final domestic demand remained weak.

The Committee stated that recent data indicate demand conditions are at a disinflationary level. It underlined that food prices and sticky service items continue to exert upward pressure on inflation, while inflation expectations, pricing behavior, and global developments remain risk factors for the disinflation process.