Turkish rates hold steady

Turkey’s central bank held rates steady at 19% as expected on Thursday and dropped a pledge to tighten policy further if needed, in its first decision since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired the hawkish former governor and sparked a market sell-off.

In a statement, the bank also ditched last month’s pledge to “decisively” maintain tight monetary policy “for an extended period” to address inflation, which has risen above 16% and been in double-digits for most of the last four years.

Turkey’s lira fell 0.7% as a result of the decision. [Reuters]