Turkish central bank surprises with rate hike to 46% after market turmoil
ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey's central bank hiked its key interest rate by 350 basis points to 46% on Thursday, in a surprise move that reversed an easing cycle and boosted Turkish assets following market turmoil triggered by the arrest of Istanbul's mayor last month. The policy pivot - just four months after rate cuts had begun - aimed to ease weeks of pressure on the lira that forced the central bank to tap its foreign currency reserves, and to push back on rising inflation expectations, analysts said. Last month, the lira briefly hit a record low of 42 to the U.S. dollar and stocks and bonds plunged after the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, pushing the central bank to take several steps to ease the market fallout.