ANKARA, Feb 8 Reuters The new head of Turkey39;s central bank said on Thursday the bank will maintain its tight policy stance until inflation drops to target, as it held its yearend 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.

Turkey39;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 end2026, when it is seen falling to 9. Rapid disinflation will begin after May of this year, Karahan said.

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 Uturn away from years of easy money in the face of soaring prices under President Tayyip Erdogan.

Karahan, a former Federal Reserve Bank of New York economist, was one of a few…