A major reduction in interest rates was made on Thursday by Turkey’s Central Bank, surprising analysts waiting for a more restrained move while the country is fighting with high inflation and growing political uncertainty.

Specifically, Turkey’s central bank reduced its basic interest rate by 250 basis points to 40.5% from 43% previously. Average estimates by Bloomberg survey expected a lower decrease of 200 basis points.

The decision was taken following comments by Turkish Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan, who urged analysts not to focus only on inflation and stressed that data analysis shows that rising pressure on prices due to demand are still in line with the downgrading.

Although Turkey’s Central Bank increased its basic interest rate to 46% in April to “collect” markets after the turmoil caused by the arrest of Constantinople mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan August remained over 33% and growth in the second quarter ran 4.8%, suggesting that the economy remains strong and consumer demand.

The new interest rates shows that Turkish Central Bank officials are prioritizing growth, ignoring persistent inflationary pressures.