ISTANBUL, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish currency lira fell further against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after the central bank hiked its policy rate by 250 basis points to 42.5 percent.

       The exchange rate of one dollar and one euro stood at 29.16 liras and 32.13 liras, respectively, hours after the rate hike, which was delivered as part of the country's efforts to tame the persistent inflation.

       According to the state-run TRT television, Türkiye's benchmark BIST-100 Index reached 7,675.76 points at 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Thursday, rising by 0.17 percent compared to the previous closure, but fluctuated between 7,620-7,730 points after the rate hike.

       The rate hike, which was more moderate than the previous ones, was made upon the central bank's assessment, which indicates monetary tightness is significantly close to the level required to establish the disinflation course.

       The central bank aggressively raised interest rates from 8.5 percent to 40 percent in June-November in a bid to bring inflation down to single digits.

       Following several years of unconventional monetary policies, the country's inflation remains high.

       Turkish annual inflation in November still stood at around 62 percent despite the aggressive rate hikes, driven by the government's tax increase, rising reconstruction costs after the deadly earthquakes in February, and other factors.

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