FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan waves during a news conference in Bulgaria, March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
April 21, 2018
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Inflation will fall in Turkey as soon as interest rates are lowered, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, ahead of a central bank meeting next week where economists expect the bank to raise rates.
A self-described “enemy of interest rates”, Erdogan has repeatedly called for lowering borrowing costs.
“As soon as we lower interest rates, the presidential system will bring that, inflation will fall,” Erdogan said in a live interview with broadcaster NTV.
Erdogan this week called for snap presidential and parliamentary elections on June 24. The executive presidency sought by Erdogan and narrowly endorsed in a referendum last year will go into effect following those elections.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Gareth Jones)
