Industrial production soars more than 5 percent

ANKARA

Turkey’s calendar-adjusted industrial production soared 5.1 percent in November 2019 compared to the same month of the previous year, the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) has said.

That followed a 3.9 percent increase in industrial production in the previous month.

Economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency had expected the country’s industrial output to increase by 5.3 percent in November.

Industrial production is considered a vital indicator for the economy, as it is seen as a preliminary gauge for GDP growth.

“We are moving closer step by step to achieve the momentum desired in industrial production. We tour the cities to listen to businesspeople and resolve their problems,” Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Twitter after TÜİK released the output data.

“Our priority is production based on value-added, job creation and export. We will bring those numbers to even higher levels in 2020,” he added.

In another post on Twitter on Jan. 13, Bayraktar also noted that the country’s risk premium dropped to 267, its lowest since May 2018.

The economy’s performance in 2019 boosted confidence in Turkey, he said.

Manufacturing output jumps

The manufacturing index climbed 5.3 percent while the mining and quarrying index rose 7.2 percent in November 2019 compared to the same month of the previous year, data from TÜİK showed yesterday.

The London-based IHS Markit reported earlier in January that Turkey’s PMI (purchasing managers’ index) signaled a second successive improvement in manufacturing production during December, with firms expanding their purchasing activity in response.

The headline PMI was unchanged at 49.5 percent in the month.

The electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index fell 1.2 percent in intermediate goods production, which grew 4.3 percent in October, and exhibited a 6.7 percent increase from a year ago in November, while durable consumer goods output declined 13.1 percent in the month after declining 5.6 percent in October, TÜİK said.

Non-durable consumer goods sector saw a 5.2 percent increase in its production in November, easing slightly from the 5.3 percent annual increase the sector recorded in the previous month.

The annual increase in the output of the capital goods manufacturing industry accelerated to 7.5 percent in November from 2.8 percent in October.

High-technology goods production soared nearly 18 percent on an annual basis while the increases in the production of medium-high and medium-low technology products were 7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, calendar and seasonally adjusted industrial production rose 0.7 percent in November 2019.

“Mining and quarrying index decreased by 3.1 percent, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index decreased by 2.2 percent in November 2019, while manufacturing index increased by 1.1 percent compared with the previous month,” TÜİK also said.

An Anadolu Agency survey on Monday forecast that the calendar-adjusted index will rise 5.3 percent for November 2019 on a yearly basis.