Turkey's central bank on Thursday kept its main interest unchanged at 17 percent for the second month in a row to support a strong rally in the Turkish lira, promising tighter policy if needed to rein in inflation that has risen to 15 percent.
It vowed to keep interest rates high "for an extended period until strong indicators point to a permanent fall in inflation and price stability.”
The consensus was for another pause for the one-week repo auction rate after two sharp hikes helped the lira rally against the dollar and euro.
The Turkish lira has clawed back more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan overhauled his economic team and appointed Naci Agbal as the new central bank governor in November.
However, the annual inflation rate remains stubbornly high, rising to 14.97 percent last month and significantly overshooting the bank's ultimate goal of five percent in the next three years.
Economists expect consumer prices to continue rising until at least April and not everyone was impressed by Agbal's decision not to hike on Thursday.
"The longer they hold as inflation rises the more Agbal uses up his well of policy credibility," BlueBay Asset Management economist Timothy Ash said in a note.
But others said Agbal can get away with keeping the key rate steady.
Capital Economics analyst Jason Tuvey said the central bank statement's "hawkish tone" will "help to support a further rally in the lira over the coming months."
In his first interview since taking office, Agbal told Reuters this month he does not expect the bank to consider rate cuts until much later this year given upward inflation pressure, and rate hikes are still a possibility.
