Turkey holds interest rate at 45% for first time after 8 months of hikes

Turkey’s central bank held its key interest rate on Thursday, keeping it at 45% despite soaring inflation after eight consecutive months of hikes.

The move was widely expected as the bank indicated in January that its 250-basis-point hike would be its last for the year, despite inflation now at roughly 65%.

Consumer prices in the country of 85 million last month jumped 6.7% from December — their biggest monthly jump since August — according to the Turkish central bank’s figures. The consumer price index  rose 64.8% year-on-year in January.

This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.