Consumer morale improves slightly in August, shows survey

ANKARA

Consumer sentiment improved, even though slightly, in August, after declining in the previous two months, a joint survey conducted by the Central Bank and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has shown.

The consumer confidence index, which fell 2.7 percent in June and 3.1 percent in July, increased by 0.6 percent to 76.4 points in August.

An index level below the 100 mark indicates optimism among consumers.

The sub-index of households’ assessment of their current financial situation surged 4.5 percent month-on-month, which compared favorably with the 5.4 percent monthly decline recorded in July.

Consumers’ expectations regarding their financial situation in the next 12 months also improved with the related sub-index inching up 0.9 percent in August after dropping 4.2 percent in the previous month.

The gauge of households’ general economic situation expectations for the next 12 months, which plunged 7 percent, rose 1 percent.

The sub-index measuring households’ assessment of their current financial situation compared with the past 12 months gained 4.5 percent month-on-month in August after recording a steep 5.4 percent decline in July.

Consumer spending is one of the main drivers of the economic growth in Türkiye.

Final consumption expenditures of households accounted for 56.6 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2024. Households’ consumption expenditures rose 7.3 percent in January-March from the same period of 2023.