Turkey Wednesday kept its main interest rate unchanged for a third time since a dramatic hike in September, in line with market expectations and helping the lira rally against the dollar. The central bank said in a statement on its website that the one-week repo rate would remain at 24 percent. Inflation in Turkey remains in double-digits. The Turkish lira, which has been trading at more than 5.5 against the dollar in the past couple of weeks, gained over one percent to 5.3 after the announcement at 1100 GMT.

The consensus had been for the rate to stay at 24 percent amid fears a cut would cause further weakness in the lira. The bank said its policy committee "decided to maintain the tight monetary policy stance until the inflation outlook displays a significant improvement". It added that "if needed, further monetary tightening will be delivered".

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019