Türkiye Says to Re-Start Operations of Iraq Oil Pipeline This Week 

Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Türkiye Says to Re-Start Operations of Iraq Oil Pipeline This Week 

Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar talks during a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, September 14, 2023. (Turkish Energy Ministry Press Office/PPO/Handout via Reuters)

Türkiye will restart operations this week on a crude oil pipeline from Iraq that has been suspended for about six months, Türkiye’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday.

"Within this week, we will start operating the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline after resuming operations. It will be able to supply half a million barrels, almost, to global oil markets," Bayraktar said during the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi.

Türkiye has been a reliable transit route for oil and gas, he added.

Türkiye halted flows on Iraq's northern oil export route about six months ago after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.

Ankara later started maintenance work on the pipeline that contributes about 0.5% of global crude supply.

Baghdad and Ankara agreed to wait until a maintenance assessment on the pipeline, which goes through a seismic zone, was complete to restart flows while still engaging in a legal battle on arbitration awards.

Türkiye was weighing legal action against Iraq, which has an outstanding enforcement case against Türkiye, Bayraktar said last month.



Türkiye Cenbank Cuts Rates by 250 Points to 45% as Expected

14 January 2025, Türkiye, Istanbul: A man seen rowing his boat along the Moda beach. Photo: Onur Dogman/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
14 January 2025, Türkiye, Istanbul: A man seen rowing his boat along the Moda beach. Photo: Onur Dogman/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
TT

Türkiye Cenbank Cuts Rates by 250 Points to 45% as Expected

14 January 2025, Türkiye, Istanbul: A man seen rowing his boat along the Moda beach. Photo: Onur Dogman/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
14 January 2025, Türkiye, Istanbul: A man seen rowing his boat along the Moda beach. Photo: Onur Dogman/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Türkiye's central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 45% as expected on Thursday, carrying on an easing cycle it launched last month alongside a decline in annual inflation that is expected to continue.

The central bank indicated it would continue to ease policy in the months ahead, noting that it anticipated a rise in trend inflation in January, when economists expect a higher minimum wage to lift the monthly price readings, Reuters reported.
In a slight change to its guidance, the bank said it will maintain a tight stance "until price stability is achieved via a sustained decline in inflation."
Last month, it said it would be maintained until "a significant and sustained decline in the underlying trend of monthly inflation is observed and inflation expectations converge to the projected forecast range."
In a Reuters poll, all 13 respondents forecast a cut to 45% from 47.5% in the one-week repo rate. They expect it to hit 30% by year end, according to the poll median.
In December, the central bank cut rates for the first time after 18-month tightening effort that reversed years of unorthodox economic policies and easy money championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has since supported the steps.
To tackle inflation that has soared for years, the bank had raised its policy rate by 4,150 basis points in total since mid-2023 and kept it at 50% for eight months before beginning easing.
Annual inflation dipped to 44.38% last month in what the central bank believes is a sustained fall toward a 5% target over a few more years. It topped 75% in May last year.
"While inflation expectations and pricing behavior tend to improve, they continue to pose risks to the disinflation process," the bank's policy committee said after its rate decision.
A 30% administered rise in the minimum wage for 2025 was lower than workers had requested, though it is expected to boost monthly inflation readings this month and next, economists say.
The expected January inflation rise "is mainly driven by services items with time-dependent pricing and backward indexation," the bank said.
The central bank has eight monetary policy meetings set for this year, down from 12 last year.