ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s central bank left its key interest rate steady at 45% on Thursday as expected after last month’s rate hike, but said the policy stance will be tightened if a significant and persistent deterioration in the inflation outlook is anticipated.

The monetary policy meeting came after Fatih Karahan was appointed central bank governor on Feb. 3 following the resignation of Hafize Gaye Erkan, saying she needed to protect her family from what she called a media smear campaign.

The bank has lifted its one-week repo rate by 3,650 points since June, after President Tayyip Erdogan prevailed in May elections and initiated a U-turn towards greater orthodoxy in economic policy.

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All 11 economists surveyed by Reuters forecast that the policy rate would be kept steady this month.

Presenting the bank’s quarterly inflation report this month, Karahan said it will maintain a tight policy stance until inflation drops to target, keeping a year-end inflation forecast of 36% despite expectations it might need to rise.