Consumer confidence perks up in July

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

DAILY NEWS PHOTO/ EMRAH GUREL

Turkish consumers are more optimistic about the economy than they have been at any time since March 2012, according to an index prepared jointly by the Central Bank and Turkey’s state-run statistics body has showed.

The consumer confidence index rose 2.9 percent to reach 78.5 points, the data released yesterday showed.

The figures signal that customers are buying more compared to the previous month; the index came in at 76.2 points in June, a 1.6 percent drop from May.

The index is calculated from a survey that evaluates consumers’ assessments on the current situation and their expectations for personal financial standing.

Although results showed that there is progress in people’s perception of the economy, it indicates an optimistic outlook only when the index is above 100.

Meanwhile, the index of the general economic situation expectation for the next 12 months, which was 102 in May, soared by 3 percent compared to the previous month, totaling 105 in July.

The expected unemployment index for the next 12 months also grew 2 percent in July, coming in at 85.7 points, up from 84.1 in June