Turkey’s new economic team acts to restore credibility
Significance In one of the most significant changes in direction in a major emerging market (EM) in recent years, newly appointed TCMB Governor Naci Agbal has tightened monetary policy dramatically while abandoning a convoluted system of multiple interest rates. With another technocrat, Lufti Elvan, appointed finance minister, monetary policy could be returning to normality. Impacts A Biden administration is expected to prove unaccommodating towards Turkey, especially given its purchase of a Russian air defence system. This may be leading Erdogan to extend feelers to the EU, recently promising reforms and insisting Turkey is an “inseparable” part of Europe. Anti-coronavirus vaccines’ late-stage trial results are encouraging market optimism, with the US stock market hitting a record this month.