ISTANBUL, April 27 (Reuters) - Turkey's central bank
kept its policy rate at 8.5% as expected on Thursday, holding
steady for a second consecutive month in its last policy meeting
before presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.
In February, the bank cut its policy rate by 50
basis points to provide stimulus in the wake of earthquakes
which killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and left
widespread destruction across ten provinces.
Even before the quakes, analysts had said easing was
possible before the elections, in which President Tayyip Erdogan
faces the biggest political challenge of his two-decade rule.
The lira was unchanged at 19.4280 against the
dollar after the central bank decision.
Last year the bank cut its key rate by 500 basis points in
an unorthodox easing cycle designed to counter an economic
slowdown, before keeping it steady at 9% in December and
January. The stimulus came even as inflation soared above 85%
last year and dipped only to 50.5% in March.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Ezgi Erkoyun;
Editing by Daren Butler)
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