Turkey's central bank lowers benchmark interest rate to 45%

Turkey’s central bank lowered its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 45% on Thursday, in its second rate cut in as many months as official figures showed inflation was easing. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said it was reducing its benchmark one-week repo rate to 45% from the current 47.5%. Despite the significant rate cut, the central bank reaffirmed its commitment to controlling soaring inflation which has left many households in Turkey struggling to afford basic needs.