Confidence in economy plunges in August

ANKARA

Confidence in the Turkish economy declined for a third month in a row in August, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced.

The economic confidence index fell by 5.2 percent to 94.1, after a decline of 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent recorded in June and May, respectively.

Any figure above the 100-mark indicates an optimistic outlook regarding the general economic situation.

The August figure marked the index value’s lowest level since August 2022.

All five sub-indices declined in August from July.

The deterioration in consumer morale was striking. The sub-index of consumer confidence, which was down 5.9 percent month-on-month in July, nosedived 15.1 percent in August, its lowest level since June 2022, the data TÜİK released on Aug. 29 showed.

However, the monthly decline in the index of real sector confidence slowed from 0.8 percent in July to 0.3 percent in August to 104.6, staying above the 100-threshold mark.

TÜİK also reported that confidence in the services sector was down by 1.7 percent, which followed the 0.6 percent decline in the previous month.

In the retail industry, business morale continued to deteriorate in August but at a slower pace. The retail confidence index fell 0.4 percent month-on-month, after registering a 2.6 percent decline in July.

The situation was similar in the key construction sector. The decline in the confidence index of the construction industry eased from 0.9 percent in July to 0.7 percent in August.