Consumer morale slips in February

ANKARA

Consumer morale declined in February after rising for five months in a row, a consumer tendency survey has shown.

The consumer confidence index fell 1.3 percent month-on-month in February to 79.3. Any figure below the 100 mark indicated pessimism among consumers.

The sub-index measuring households’ assessment of their current financial situation, which soared 6 percent last month, was down 0.1 percent.

Consumers’ expectations regarding their financial situation over the next 12 months also deteriorated, with the corresponding index figure declining 1.6 percent.

The gauge of households’ expectations regarding the general economic situation over the next 12 months plunged 3.4 percent in February after rising 1.8 percent in the previous month.

The survey also showed that fewer consumers compared to January plan spending money on durable goods in the next 12 months.

Consumers appeared to be more optimistic about the inflation outlook in the future. The sub-index of their expectations for consumer price changes in the next 12 months increased 1.1 percent, comparing favorably with the nearly 5 percent decline in January.

Any increase in this sub-index indicates that consumers expect prices to fall.

Consumption is one of the main drivers of GDP growth in Türkiye.

Households’ final consumption expenditure, which accounted for 57.2 percent of the country’s national income in the third quarter of 2023 when the economy expanded 5.9 percent, grew 11.2 percent from a year ago, according to the latest official data.

The government forecast private consumption to increase 3.5 percent this year, slowing from the estimated 11 percent increase in 2023.