Turkish central bank keeps interest rate

Turkish central bank Governor Erdem Basci left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at a historic low and signaled he may consider cuts if European debt problems put a halt to Turkish growth. The central bank in Ankara kept the benchmark one-week repo rate at 6.25 percent, according to a statement on its website on Friday. That matched the forecast of all 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The bank will release minutes of the meeting within five working days. Basci is trying to engineer a slowdown from the 11 percent annual economic growth that Turkey recorded in the first quarter and said on Friday that the bank is sticking by its policy of low rates and curbs on bank credit, “given the growing uncertainty for the global economy.” Poland central bank ready to intervene when necessary Poland's central bank is ready to intervene on the foreign exchange market should the situation in the euro zone threaten the stability of the Polish zloty, said Malgorzata Zaleska, board member at the National Bank of Poland. The bank won't announce such interventions beforehand, she said in an interview Friday with broadcaster TVN CNBC. ""It's important to remember that the National Bank of Poland constantly analyzes the situation on international markets and keeps track of the exchange rate. Of course if there's a need, it's ready to intervene. It's a good tradition, however, not to announce interventions,"" she said. Amid concerns over Greek sovereign debt, the zloty earlier this month weakened sharply, hitting PLN4.06 to the euro on July 12, the highest level since March German business confidence slides more than expected in July German business confidence declined more than expected this month amid jitters over Europe’s debt crisis, but the overall picture remains positive, a closely watched survey showed Friday. The Ifo Institute’s confidence index dropped to 112.9 points for July, from 114.5 in June. While the index remains in sight of the multiyear highs it reached in recent months, economists had expected a slip of less than a point. Ifo said companies’ assessment of both their current situation and the outlook for the next six months declined. Manufacturers expect slower export growth, and the climate also darkened in the retail sector, Ifo said. But “even though the business expectations are weakening, the German economy is still enjoying pleasant summer days,” it added.