The Central Bank kept the interest rate steady at 14% at the fourth Monetary Policy Committee (PPK) meeting of the year in line with market expectations. The PPK, which pointed out that the rate of credit growth and the fact that targeted usage of accessed funds for real economic activity is important for financial stability, included in its statement for the first time its aim to strengthen the macroprudential policy set. The decision was interpreted by the economic world as an indicator that the CB’s first move could be a required reserve step as a macroprudential policy measure. Analysts also said the increase in the share of export revenues to be taken from companies and planned inflation-indexed instruments could also be seen as macroprudential policy measures. However, analysts emphasized that no big change was indicated in the statement, and there has been no change in the CB’s monetary policy. The economic world also highlighted that central banks around the world have entered a significant monetary tightening period while the PPK statement said that monetary policies vary in advanced economies.
The PPK statement didn’t affect the money market. USD/TRY, which continued to stay above 14.60, is being traded at 14.63 this morning.
In the meantime, Turkey’s benchmark stock index Borsa Istanbul gained 0.61% to close at a new record high of 2,475.41 points yesterday, after hitting a fresh intraday all-time high of 2,485.32 points. Starting the day at 2,480.92 points, the BIST 100 index increased 14.98 points from Wednesday’s close of 2,460.43 points. The index’s lowest value during the day was 2,461.54 points, while its daily high was 2,485.32 points. The total market value of the BIST 100 was more than TRY 2tr by market close, with a daily trading volume of over TRY 44.7bn. Analysts stated that 2,140 and 2,390 points will be the support level and 2,500 points will be the resistance level for the BIST 100 index, in technical terms.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced at an iftar meal with tradespeople and craftspeople that Turkey would bring long-term finance opportunities in TRY with an interest rate of up to 9% on an annual basis in addition to the investments towards exports. “We’ll also provide long-term TRY financing with an interest rate of 9% for tourism companies that offer services that gain FX,” President Erdogan added.
Turkey is working on a draft study to prevent the calculation of inflation by institutions other than the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) which is the sole authority for official statistics. In line with the draft study, no other institution besides TurkStat will be able to calculate inflation, according to daily DUNYA. These institutions will be obliged to apply to TurkStat to calculate the inflation and share the figure with the public.
DAILY AGENDA
The short-term external debt stock increased by 8.5% to USD 130.5bn in February, compared to the end of 2021, according to the Central Bank.
The Producer Price Index of Agricultural Products (Agriculture-PPI) jumped 84.11% in March, compared to the same month last year according to TurkStat. Agriculture-PPI rose by 12.02% on a monthly basis.
House sales rose by 20.6% to 137,170 units in March, compared to the same month last year, according to TurkStat.
The Treasury and Finance Ministry will release the central government’s budget balance figures for March (11.00 am).
The Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati will convene with the business world in Samsun (2.00 pm).
Meanwhile…
>> The Capital Markets Board of Turkey (SPK) has approved the initial public offering of the polyurethane company Kimteks Poliuretan Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, the metal company BMS Birlesik Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, and the machinery firm Imas Makine Sanayi AS.
>> Foreign investors’ net equity acquisitions totaled USD 245.2m while their net government debt securities (GDS) and corporate bond outflow from Turkey amounted to USD 38.7m and USD 4.4m, respectively, in the week ending on April 8, according to the Central Bank.
>> Residents’ FX deposit accounts dropped by USD 367.6m from USD 215.92bn to USD 215.61bn in the week ending on April 8, compared to the previous week, according to the Central Bank.
>> The total amount in FX-protected TRY deposit accounts rose from TRY 695.69 to TRY 726.66bn in the week ending on April 8, compared to the previous week, according to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
>> The Central Bank’s international net reserves increased by USD 1.9bn from USD 16.4bn to USD 18.3bn in the week ending on April 8, compared to the previous week. The bank’s total reserves rose from USD 108.96bn to USD 109.91bn in the same period.
