Capacity utilization rises slightly in May

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in the manufacturing sector increased from 77.8 percent in April to 78 percent in May, the Central Bank said on May 23.

The CUR was 77.3 percent in March.

The durable consumer goods industry used 74.4 percent of its capacity in May, only an inch higher from the previous month’s 74.2 percent CUR, while the capacity utilization in the non-durable consumer goods industry declined from 75.7 percent in April to 75.4 percent.

In the food and drinks sector, the capacity utilization increased from 72.7 percent to 72.9 percent and in the consumer goods manufacturing sector’s CUR eased from 75.4 percent to 75.2 percent.

The Central Bank data also showed that the investment goods industry increased its CUR to 75 percent in May from 74.8 percent in the previous month, while the CUR in the intermediate goods manufacturing sector rose from 79.7 percent to 80 percent.

The Central Bank separately said on May 23 that the real sector confidence index declined from 109.7 in April to 109.4 in May.

Any index figure above the 100-threshold indicates optimism among businesses.

The gauge of business morale stood at 108.5 in March.

The sub-index for the orders received in the past three months advanced from 113.2 to 114.5, but the sub-index for exports orders in the next three months declined from 123.4 to 120.6.

The sub-index measuring the real sector’s assessment of the general business condition increased from 83.6 in April to 87.2 in May.

The Turkish Statistical Insitute (TÜİK) separately reported that the confidence in the services sector improved 6.1 percent in May from April to 121.7. The confidence index for the retail industry was also up 1.7 percent to 121.4, but the business morale in the construction sector fell by 2.2 percent to 81.6.