By CentralBankNews.info
    Turkey’s central bank cut the upper band of its interest rate corridor for the third consecutive month in “a measured step toward simplification” of its rate structure but again left its benchmark repo rate steady at 7.50 percent as the “improvement in the underlying core inflation trend remains limited, necessitating the maintenance of a tight liquidity stance.
    The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) cut the overnight marginal funding rate by another 50 basis points to 9.50 percent and the lending rate at its late liquidity window by 50 basis points to 11.0 percent.
    Since March the overnight funding rate has been cut by 125 basis points in response to what the CBRT described as a “marked decline” in inflation due to lower unprocessed food prices. The benchmark repo rate has been steady at 7.50 percent since February 2015.
    The central bank reiterated its recent guidance that “future monetary policy decisions will be conditional on the inflation outlook” and in light of inflation expectations, prices and other factors, a tight monetary policy stance will be maintained.
    Turkey’s headline inflation rate eased to 6.57 percent in April from 7.46 percent in March while core inflation eased to 9.3 percent, down from 9.5 percent as both numbers remain well above the bank’s target of 5.0 percent.
    In its latest inflation report, the CBRT maintained its outlook for inflation to reach 7.5 percent by the end of this year and 6 percent by the end of 2017, reaching 5 percent in 2018.
    In contrast to its statement in April, when the central bank said global volatility had declined, the central bank today said “global volatility has increased to some extent,” and the tight monetary policy stance, cautious macroeconomic policies helped increase the economy’s resilience to shocks.

    The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey released the following statement:
   
Participating Committee Members