CAIRO: Iraq’s foreign currency reserves are now above $80 billion and are expected to hit $90 billion by the end of the year, state news agency INA cited the deputy governor of the central bank, Ammar Khalaf, as saying on Sunday.
The central bank’s gold reserves have climbed 30 tons to stand at more than 131 tons now, Khalaf said.
Turkish central bank may cut loan rates
Turkey’s central bank is expected to take steps soon to bring lending costs closer to its newly cut policy rate, especially for some corporate loans, three bankers told Reuters, after the bank said spreads between the two rates had widened.
The central bank unexpectedly cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 13 percent on Thursday, despite 80 percent inflation. It cited the widening gap between its policy rate and rising lending rates as having reduced the effectiveness of its monetary policy.
The central bank “decided to further strengthen the macroprudential policy set with tools supporting the effectiveness of the monetary transmission mechanism,” its policy committee said.
Polish PM sees GDP growth
Poland’s economic growth in 2022 may be around 5 percent, the prime minister said on Friday, as economists warn of a slowdown in the country.
Seasonally-adjusted Polish gross domestic product fell by 2.3 percent quarter-on-quarter, indicating that a slowdown in domestic demand, rising interest rates, and companies’ surging costs amid double-digit inflation have started to dampen growth. Read full story
“Economic growth this year may hover around 5 percent,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference.
(With input from Reuters)
