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Türkiye: New Central Bank Chief Pledges to Maintain Tight Policy

A man walks amid apartment buildings of the Maltepe district, Istanbul, Turkey, 03 April 2023. (Issued 05 February 2024) EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
A man walks amid apartment buildings of the Maltepe district, Istanbul, Turkey, 03 April 2023. (Issued 05 February 2024) EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
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Türkiye: New Central Bank Chief Pledges to Maintain Tight Policy

A man walks amid apartment buildings of the Maltepe district, Istanbul, Turkey, 03 April 2023. (Issued 05 February 2024) EPA/ERDEM SAHIN
A man walks amid apartment buildings of the Maltepe district, Istanbul, Turkey, 03 April 2023. (Issued 05 February 2024) EPA/ERDEM SAHIN

The new head of Türkiye's central bank said on Thursday the bank will maintain its tight policy stance until inflation drops to target, as it held its year-end consumer price forecast at 36% despite some expectations it would need to rise.
Presenting a quarterly inflation report in Ankara, Fatih Karahan, appointed to the post less than a week ago, said the central bank will reassess its current policy level if there is a significant deterioration in the outlook.
"We are determined to maintain the necessary monetary tightness until inflation falls to levels consistent with our target," said Karahan, who was named governor on Saturday, having been a deputy governor since July.
Turkey's inflation rate climbed to an annual 64.9% last month, having risen 6.7% on a monthly basis.
On Thursday the bank held its inflation forecasts out to end-2026, when it is seen falling to 9%. "Rapid disinflation" will begin after May of this year, Reuters quoted Karahan as saying.
The presentation came after the surprise resignation last Friday of former bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, who cited the need to protect her family from what she called a media smear campaign.
The first woman to run the bank, Erkan had aggressively hiked interest rates to 45% from 8.5% since June to cool inflation, orchestrating a dramatic U-turn away from years of easy money in the face of soaring prices under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Karahan, a former Federal Reserve Bank of New York economist, was one of a few deputies on Türkiye's monetary policy committee who played an important role designing the current tightening cycle.
His first in-person comments as chief reinforced the expectation he will remain hawkish.
"Economic indicators since the previous inflation report period confirm that the monetary policy is on the right track," he said. "We will decisively continue our work to ensure disinflation."

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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."