Confidence in economy increases for second month

ANKARA

Confidence in the Turkish economy increased for a second month in a row in October, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

The economic confidence index advanced 1.2 percent from the previous month after rising 1.3 percent month-on-month in September.

Any index figure above 100 indicates an optimistic outlook about the general economic situation.

The improvement in consumer morale continued in October, with the related sub-index increasing 4.4 percent, which was slower than the 5.1 percent rise recorded in the previous month.

Consumer spending was one of the main drivers of economic growth in the second quarter of 2023, when the GDP expanded by 3.8 percent.

Households’ final consumption grew by 15.6 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier. Household consumption accounted for nearly 62 percent of the country’s GDP in the second quarter.

Confidence in the manufacturing sector rose 0.2 percent, easing from the 0.5 percent increase in September, TÜİK said.

In the service sector, business morale, which plunged 2 percent in September, inched up 0.5 percent month-on-month.

The confidence index for the construction sector was up only 0.9 percent in October, which came on top of the 1 percent increase in September.

Retail was the only major industry covered by the TÜİK study, which saw a decline in confidence.

Confidence in the sector dropped 3.3 percent in October after rising 3 percent in the previous month.