STORY: Turkish president signals further interest rate cuts in 2025
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 28, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:16
LOCATION: BURSA, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST: (courtesy of Ihlas News Agency)
1. various of Turkish President's meeting with members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
3. various of the meeting
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
5. various of the meeting
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
7. various of the meeting

STORYLINE:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Saturday that additional policy rate cuts are expected in 2025, following the central bank's recent decision to reduce its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 47.5 percent.

Erdogan made the remarks at a meeting with members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Bursa, a city in northwestern Türkiye.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"We will begin lowering interest rates. The year 2025 will be a turning point for this effort."

Erdogan emphasized that reducing interest rates would help curb inflation.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"Interest rates will decrease, which in turn will reduce inflation. Taking this step is now indispensable for us."

He further outlined that the main objective of the government's economic program is to quickly address the welfare losses suffered by citizens due to exchange rate fluctuations and inflation.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"The priority of the program we are implementing is to control inflation."

On Thursday last week, Türkiye's central bank implemented its first rate cut in nearly two years, lowering its benchmark interest rate by 250 basis points to 47.5 percent. The bank cited slowing inflation as the primary rationale for the decision.

The country has faced persistently high inflation in recent years, prompting a series of aggressive rate hikes by the central bank, which raised its policy rate by a cumulative 4,150 basis points since mid-2023.

As a result of these disinflationary measures, Türkiye has managed to reduce year-on-year inflation from over 75 percent in May to 47.09 percent in November.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Bursa, Türkiye.
(XHTV)