ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's central bank, under its new governor, has slashed its key interest rate again, this time by 3.25 percentage points.

The bank said Thursday it had lowered the one-week repo auction rate to 16.50% from 19.75%, saying the inflation outlook continued to improve.

The bank had cut the rate from 24% to 19.75% in July following the appointment of Murat Uysal.

The rate cut Thursday was less than investors had anticipated, helping the Turkish lira advance against the dollar.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the previous governor, Murat Cetinkaya, on July 6 for reportedly resisting rate cuts.

Turkey's currency nosedived last year over concerns about the country's high levels of foreign debt, Erdogan's economic policies and a diplomatic dispute with the United States.