Consumer confidence improves slightly

ANKARA

The consumer confidence index inched up 0.3 percent on a monthly basis from 72.2 in August to 72.4 in September, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has announced.

Any index figure above the 100-mark indicates optimism among consumers.

Two of the four main sub-indices showed increases from August. The sub-index, which measures households’ assessment of their current financial situation declined by 1.5 percent on a monthly basis, after rising by 16 percent in August.

The index for households’ expectations regarding the financial situation over the next 12 months, which rose 7.5 percent in August, fell 1.1 percent.

Consumers’ expectations regarding the general economic situation continued to improve albeit at a slower pace, with the increase in the related index easing from 2.7 percent last month to 1.6 percent in September.

The index measuring consumers’ assessment of spending money on durable goods over the next 12 months increased 1.3 percent after posting a 2.4 percent rise in August.

Participants of the TÜİK survey said that they expect consumer prices to rise in the next 12 months compared to the past 12 months.

The sub-index measuring the probability of consumers buying or building a house over the next 12 months soared 23.1 percent in September after rising 4.6 percent in August.

Participants also said they expect the number of unemployed people to increase in the next 12 months, with the rise in the index declining from 4.7 percent last month to 0.7 percent in September. The increase in the index means consumers expect the jobless rate to rise.