Turkish central bank executes emergency rate hike to stem lira weakness

Turkey's central bank has hiked interest rates following an emergency meeting by rate-setters in Ankara.

In a bid to stem weakness in the currency and the heightened inflationary pressures that would bring, policymakers raised the interest rate on the central bank's Late Liquidity Window by 300 basis points to 16.50%.

Nevertheless, analysts at Capital Economics were quick to caution that: "The central bank has hiked interest rates several times over the past few years to shore up the currency. But the relief has often proved short-lived. Similarly, this time, given the large current account deficit and high inflation, any sign of fiscal loosening or demands for lower rates ahead of the election could put the lira back under pressure."

As of 1831 BST, the US dollar head weakened to trade lower by 0.32% to 4.6544.