Turkey's central bank holds its policy rate at 37% at its July meeting, a fourth straight pause

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey held its policy rate (the one-week repo rate) at 37% at its Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, 23 July 2026, keeping it unchanged for a fourth consecutive meeting. The rate corridor was also left intact, with the overnight lending rate at 40% and the overnight borrowing rate at 35.5%.

Governor Fatih Karahan said leading indicators point to a temporary rise in the underlying inflation trend in July, and that energy prices have started climbing again amid geopolitical uncertainty, posing an upside risk to disinflation. Turkey's annual inflation stood near 32.1% in June 2026. The bank reiterated a cautious, meeting-by-meeting stance and kept the door open to further tightening if needed.

The decision came as Brent crude's jump above $100 a barrel amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis increased pressure on the lira and on Turkish inflation expectations, since the country imports much of its energy and is exposed to the region's energy shocks. The lira traded near a record low of about 47.2 per US dollar on the same day. The lira is an important regional variable for Iran's market, as part of the trade and pricing between the two countries is linked to it.