2026-09-10
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The Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the policy rate at 37 percent, while maintaining the overnight lending rate at 40 percent and the overnight borrowing rate at 35.5 percent. The Committee also increased the program limits for advance loans against investment commitment from TRY 300 billion to TRY 750 billion, allocating TRY 150 billion to the 2026 limit and TRY 200 billion each for 2027 and 2028. The CBRT announced the resumption of one-week repo auctions, which had been suspended on March 1, 2026.
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Summary of the Monetary Policy
Committee Meeting
September 17, 2026, No: 2026-42
Meeting Date: September 10, 2026
Global Economy
quarterly terms in the second quarter, and by 2.3% compared to the same period of the previous year.
11. In July, seasonally adjusted employment stood at 32.4 million people, with a slight decline
compared to the previous quarter average. In this period, the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points quarter-on-quarter. As the decline in employment was larger, the unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage point on a quarterly basis and became 8.1%. Survey indicators suggest that the outlook lagging behind historical averages for manufacturing firms' future employment expectations persisted.
12. The current account balance ran a monthly deficit of USD 4.2 billion in June. The 12-month
cumulative current account deficit increased by USD 1.9 billion month-on-month and stood at USD 38.9 billion. Travel revenues stood at USD 5.8 billion on a monthly basis and USD 60.3 billion in 12-month cumulative terms. The services balance surplus remained robust at USD
63.7 billion.
13. In August, seasonally adjusted exports and imports both rose, with exports registering a larger
increase. Imports and exports posted an increase on an annual basis as well. Against this background, the 12-month cumulative foreign trade deficit declined slightly compared to the previous month. In August, gold imports stood at around USD 0.3 billion, and declined to USD
20.1 billion in 12-month cumulative terms. According to the current data, the 12-month
cumulative current account deficit is projected to widen in July and August. The impact of recent geopolitical developments on the current account deficit is expected to be largely shaped by the course of energy price developments. Seasonally adjusted imports of consumption goods went up somewhat in July and August, after declining in the second quarter of the year. When provisional foreign trade data for August are considered along with the high-frequency leading data for September, the three-month average trends point to a fall in exports and imports and a narrowing of the foreign trade deficit compared to the second quarter of the year.
14. Regarding the financing of the current account deficit, the banking sector’s 12-month
cumulative long-term debt rollover ratio was 151.3% in June. In the non-bank corporate sector, this ratio was 231.4%. Accordingly, external financing opportunities remain at high levels. Inflation Developments and Expectations
15. Consumer prices increased by 1.84% in August, and annual inflation edged down by 0.24
percentage points to 31.51%. In this period, consumer inflation was primarily driven by surging energy prices amid geopolitical developments and the resulting impact on transport services, as well as by education and communication services. Annual inflation rose most notably in energy, followed by the alcohol-tobacco-gold and services groups, but fell in other main groups. The annual rate of change was down by 0.30 percentage points to 30.68% in the B index (CPI excluding energy, unprocessed food, alcoholic beverages-tobacco and gold) and was up by
0.16 percentage points to 30.07% in the C index (CPI excluding energy, food and non-alcoholic
beverages, alcoholic beverages-tobacco and gold).
16. Compared to the previous month, the contributions of the food and non-alcoholic beverages,
and core goods groups to annual consumer inflation decreased by 0.81 and 0.32 percentage points, respectively, whereas those of the services, energy, and alcohol-tobacco-gold groups edged up by 0.43, 0.40 and 0.06 percentage points.
17. In August, the sharp monthly increase of 5.46% in energy prices was driven by rising fuel prices
resulting from developments in international oil prices. The rise in refinery margins was also reflected in diesel prices. In August, monthly inflation in services remained elevated, led primarily by education, as well as communication and transport services. Prices in the alcoholic
beverages and tobacco group rose. This was mainly driven by price increases in tobacco products, along with the carry-over effect of the tax revision implemented in July. In August, the slowdown in food inflation was steered by the unprocessed food subgroup, which saw a decrease in prices led by fresh fruit and vegetables, whereas monthly inflation in processed food remained relatively high. In the core goods group, prices fell in the clothing and footwear subgroup due to seasonal discounts, while prices of goods other than clothing remained moderate.
18. In seasonally adjusted terms, monthly consumer price inflation remained flat both in the
headline index and the B index, but fell in the C index. In seasonally adjusted terms, among the components of the B index, price increases weakened in core goods, were relatively flat in services, and gained pace in processed food. Indicators monitored by the CBRT suggest that underlying consumer inflation edged up slightly in August, following the decline in July. These indicators continued their downward trend in terms of three-month averages.
19. As of August, seasonally adjusted inflation based on three-month averages was flat in the
services sector compared to the previous month while falling in core goods. Despite supplyside shocks caused by geopolitical developments, the weak course of demand conditions appears to be limiting the underlying trend of inflation.
20. The prevalent price-setting behavior in the services sector leads to significant inertia and
causes the impact of shocks on inflation to extend over a long period of time, and services inflation remains higher than goods inflation. As of August, annual goods inflation was around 26%, while services inflation hovered around 40%. Among subgroups of services inflation, annual inflation rose in the communication, transport, and other services groups, while it receded in rents and restaurants-hotels. In August, monthly inflation in other services increased by 3.22%, reflecting the effect of the pilgrimage fees being announced in August this year, unlike the previous year, in addition to education services. Prices of education services rose by 8.62% on the back of the increase in the tuition fees of foundation higher education institutions. The increases in university tuition fees, which took place only once in September in the previous year based on the registration period, extended over the August-September period this year. This development is expected to have an upward effect on services sector inflation in August and a downward effect in September. Mobile phone call charges were influential in the 5.03% increase in communication services. Inflation in transportation services, which has been on the rise due to fuel prices, strengthened and stood at 4.98% in August. In this period, air passenger transportation was the main item that stood out. Although monthly rent inflation rose slightly to 3.04% due to seasonal effects on contract renewal rates, it continued to decelerate on an annual basis. In this period, the downward trend in seasonally adjusted rent inflation became more pronounced. Meanwhile, the restaurants-hotels group remained on a moderate track.
21. In August, domestic producer prices rose by 2.57%, and annual producer inflation increased
by 0.12 percentage points to 27.95%. During this period, energy prices continued to stand out among the main industrial groupings, with an increase of 6.99%. Prices of durable consumption goods (excluding jewelry) were up by 2.01%, while increases in other main industrial groupings ranged between 1.5% and 1.8%. On a sectoral basis, refined petroleum products, tobacco, coal and lignite, metal ores, and electricity were the subgroups with notable price increases.
22. In August, international commodity prices rose due to higher energy, agricultural commodity,
and industrial metal prices. As of the first ten days of September, energy commodity prices saw a marked increase, driven by developments in the Strait of Hormuz. Agricultural commodity prices were also on the rise. Brent crude oil prices are highly volatile. After declining in June, Brent crude oil prices stood at USD 91 in August amid geopolitical tensions re-
escalating in July, and reached an average of USD 103 as of the first ten days of September. Similarly, the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) natural gas prices continue to rise. Gold prices remained relatively flat as of the first ten days of September following the rise in August. Uncertainties regarding geopolitical developments drive up commodity prices, particularly energy prices, and cause disruptions in the flow of raw materials, thereby creating inflationary pressures on a global scale. The FAO Food Price Index edged up in July, led by sugar and cereal prices. Meanwhile, renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine have heightened supply concerns, triggering a recent uptrend in the prices of certain cereal products. Due to the El Niño climate phenomenon, prices of certain agricultural commodities including rice, sugar, coffee, and cocoa are rising, and upside risks are becoming evident for products such as some vegetable oils and corn. In short, climate events and global supply concerns put pressure on the prices of various food products, which poses upside risks to animal production costs.
23. The Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, which stood well above its historical average in April
and May due to geopolitical developments, moderated in the following period but still stayed above its historical average. Amid geopolitical developments, risks related to the Strait of Hormuz persist, and global freight rates are unfavorable. The rise in container price indices for the global market and China since March continued through the first ten days of September. Dry cargo indices also recorded sharp increases in August and the first ten days of September. In addition, while the basket exchange rate rose somewhat in August, partly reflecting developments in the euro/USD exchange rate, it remained moderate as of the first ten days of September. Seasonally adjusted manufacturing industry PMI data for August pointed to an increase in input and product price indices and a partial disruption in delivery times.
24. In August, a general increase was observed in sectoral inflation expectations. According to the
results of the Survey of Market Participants, the year-end inflation expectation for 2026 increased by 0.2 percentage points to 29.4%, while the year-end inflation expectation for 2027 increased by 0.5 percentage points to 21.9%. The 12-month ahead inflation expectation decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 23.7%, while the 24-month ahead inflation expectation was up by 0.2 percentage points to 18.0%. The five-year ahead inflation expectation decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 11.1%. As for the expectations of the real sector, the 12-monthahead inflation expectation of firms increased by 0.3 percentage points to 32.8%. In the same period, the 12-month-ahead inflation expectation of households was up by 0.6 percentage points to 45.6%. Inflation expectations and pricing behavior continue to pose risk to the disinflation process.
25. Despite monthly fluctuations, recent inflation figures and leading indicators suggest that the
underlying trend of inflation is decelerating. The rise in the underlying trend of inflation in August was influenced also by the fact that the increase in tuition fees of foundation higher education institutions, which took place entirely in September last year, were split between August and September this year, and the early announcement of Hajj fees in August instead of September. While these two shifts increased August inflation by approximately 0.25 percentage points, it will mechanically pull-down September inflation owing to education services. Therefore, it will be important to remain cautious regarding the increase that these services items created in the underlying trend in August and the potential decrease they may cause in September, as these occurred in different months in the previous year. Leading indicators suggest a slowdown in seasonally adjusted monthly services inflation. The moderate trend in core goods prices is estimated to continue in September. Preliminary data regarding the food group indicate that annual inflation in this category will decrease significantly, to be driven by the decline in fresh fruit and vegetable prices, particularly in vegetables. Meanwhile, the uptrend in global energy prices is expected to continue pushing up the annual inflation of the energy group through fuel and LPG. Elevated energy prices amid geopolitical developments pose an upward risk to the inflation outlook. The impact of geopolitical
developments on the inflation outlook through the cost channel, economic activity and expectations is closely monitored. Monetary Policy
26. In a press release on August 23, 2026, the CBRT announced that one-week repo auctions, which
had been suspended on March 1, 2026, would be resumed.
27. The Monetary Policy Committee (the Committee) has decided to keep the policy rate (the oneweek repo auction rate) at 37 percent. The Committee has also maintained the Central Bank
overnight lending rate and the overnight borrowing rate at 40 percent and 35.5 percent, respectively.
28. The tight monetary policy stance, which will be maintained until price stability is achieved, will
strengthen the disinflation process through demand, exchange rate, and expectation channels. The Committee will determine the policy rate by taking into account realized and expected inflation and its underlying trend in a way to ensure the tightness required by the projected disinflation path in line with the interim targets. Monetary policy decisions are made prudently on a meeting-by-meeting basis with a focus on the inflation outlook. In case of a significant and persistent deterioration in the inflation outlook, monetary policy stance will be tightened. The Committee reiterated that it remains highly attentive to upside risks on inflation.
29. In case of unanticipated developments in credit and deposit markets, monetary transmission
mechanism will be supported via additional macroprudential measures. Liquidity conditions will continue to be closely monitored and liquidity management tools will continue to be used effectively.
30. The Committee will make its policy decisions so as to create the monetary and financial
conditions necessary to reach the 5 percent inflation target in the medium term. The Committee will make its decisions in a predictable, data-driven and transparent framework.
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Source: Central Bank of Republic of Turkey — original document
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