Stronger-than-expected Turkish inflation data led JPMorgan on Monday to add another 500 basis point interest rate hike to their forecasts for the country in April, a move that, if correct, would raise Turkey’s key policy rate to 50 percent, Reuters reported.
The US investment bank previously expected Turkey’s recent hike, to 45 percent, to be the last of the current cycle, which has seen the bank jack up rates by a huge 3,650 basis points since June.
“Headline CPI inflation came in at 4.5% m/m in February, much higher than our expectation of 4.2% and the market consensus of 3.8%,” Reuters quoted JPMorgan as saying in a research note.
The bank kept its year-end policy rate forecast of 45 percent, however, saying the Turkish Central Bank might cut its policy rate in November and December.
The inflation rate in Turkey rose to 67.1 percent in February despite a series of interest rate hikes by the Turkish Central Bank.