Capacity usage, business morale improve in May

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in the key manufacturing sector has increased for a second month in a row, shows data from Central Bank, while a separate survey has revealed that business morale continued to rise in May.

The unadjusted usage rate rose from 75.4 percent in April to 76 percent last month, the Central Bank data showed on May 24.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CUR was at 76.3 percent in May, advancing from 75.6 percent in April.

Companies operating in the durable consumer goods manufacturing used 72.4 percent of their capacity last month, up from the 7.19 percent CUR in April, while the utilization rate in the non-durable consumer goods sector fell slightly from 74.4 percent to 73.3 percent.

In the consumer goods industry, the CUR was unchanged from April at 73.2 percent.

Food and drink companies worked at 73.3 percent capacity in May, pointing to a slight decline from April’s 73.6 percent, according to data from the Central Bank.

The CUR in the intermediate goods sector climbed from 74.4 percent to 75.5 percent, while the usage in capital goods manufacturing fell from 79.1 percent to 78.4 percent.

Business sentiment rises

A separate survey the Central Bank released showed that business morale continued to improve in May.

The real sector confidence index advanced from 108 in April to 108.3 last month, the bank said.

Any index figure above the 100 mark indicates optimism among companies.

The index figure of 108.3 recorded in May, marked its highest level after May 2022’s 109.4.

The sub-index for production volume in the next three months advanced 2.5 percent month-on-month, while the increase in the index for total orders in the past three months was 6.7 percent.

The gauge for export orders in the next three months inched up 0.8 percent, however, the index for the general business situation fell 1.4 percent from April.

Meanwhile, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on May 24 that confidence in the services sector fell 0.6 percent from April.

In the retail industry, confidence rose by 0.4 percent after declining 1.3 percent in April. In the construction sector, the confidence index, which fell 0.1 percent month-on-month in April, climbed 4.3 percent in May.