Interest rate

I won?t make movie or book recommendations, although the heading of the column suggests the opposite.

However, it is almost impossible not to remember the legendary words of Mario Puzo in The Godfather series when considering the conflict between several top actors in the Turkish government and the head of the Central Bank.

Governor Erdem Ba?ç? did indeed save the best for last during his briefing on the Central Bank?s first Inflation Report of the year on Jan. 28. At the Q&A session, he said the monetary policy committee (MPC) would cut interest rates at an emergency meeting on Feb. 4 if annual inflation fell more than one percentage point in January.

The Turkish lira hit a record low against a strong dollar on Jan. 30, weighed down by expectations that the Central Bank could hold an extraordinary meeting next week to cut interest rates.

The lira weakened as far as 2.4470 per dollar, from 2.4036 late on Jan. 29, before steadying to 2.4345 by the afternoon.

The Turkish lira tumbled to a new record low against the dollar today on expectations that the Central Bank will cut interest rates at an extraordinary monetary policy committee meeting as early as Feb. 4.

The difference of opinion about Turkey's economic policies between the president and the government - and also within the government itself -  is deepening. 

After President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an?s statement last week demanding interest rate cuts, it was observed that the difference of opinion was not limited to monetary policies, but also spread to several main areas.

The Turkish Central Bank should immediately cut interest rates, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Jan. 13, citing the country's inflation target of 5 percent this year.

A vocal critic of the Central Bank's policies, Zeybekci told broadcaster A Haber in an interview that rates could be cut to as low as 6 percent. The bank's one-week repo rate currently stands at 8.25 percent.

The Turkish economy has been under pressure for the last years due to several foreign and domestic factors and the latest growth and unemployment figures actually show how worsening the economy is The U.S.

An eventual interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve could threaten Turkish economic growth, a Moody’s analyst said Nov. 26.

The Turkish Central Bank kept interest rates on hold Nov. 20 and said it would keep monetary policy tight until the inflation outlook improves significantly.

The Central Bank is battling to rein in inflation even as the economy slows and conflict rages in neighboring countries.

The National Bank of Romania's (BNR) Board decided on Tuesday to cut the the monetary policy rate to 2.75 percent per annum from 3 percent starting Nov. 5, 2014, the Central Bank said in a release.