ISTANBUL — The Turkish lira sunk to a record low on Thursday after the central bank unexpectedly kept its benchmark interest rate on hold, heaping pressure on the beleaguered currency as investors already worried about political risks continue to exit its markets.

The lira fell as much as 2.1% against the dollar to 7.98 — another all-time low for a currency that has lost about a quarter of its value this year — after the bank’s monetary policy committee announced its decision. It steadied to 7.93 in later trading.

Economists had predicted policy-makers would raise the main one-week repo rate by 175 basis points, according to a Bloomberg poll. Instead, the bank kept it at 10.25%, well below inflation that officially stands at 11.75%. That means investors can expect a negative return on lira-denominated assets after inflation.

The bank did raise the upper band of its interest-rate corridor in an attempt to reduce liquidity, but its use of such complex back-door measures discourages investors because of its opacity. The move appeared to be an about-face from last month’s meeting, when it hiked rates by 200 basis points for the first time since 2018.