Turkey’s external assets up in December

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

REUTERS photo

Turkey’s foreign assets rose 2.1 percent year-on-year in December to reach $214.8 billion, the Turkish Central Bank said on Feb. 20.

At the same time, overseas liabilities fell by 3 percent to $570.8 billion, the bank added, putting Turkey’s December Net International Investment Position (NIIP) at -$356.1 billion, a 5.8 percent improvement compared to the same period last year.      

The NIIP is a nation’s stock of foreign assets minus its foreign liabilities as well as the value of overseas assets owned by a country minus the value of foreign-owned domestic assets.      


Consumer confidence slips 

The consumer confidence index in Turkey was down in February compared to the previous month, according to official data released on Feb. 20.

The index slipped by 1.8 percent to hit 65.7 in February from 66.9 points last month, a report from the Turkish Statistical Institute stated.      
  
All sub-indices of the main index were lower in the month with probability of saving index - indicating people’s expectation of earning enough money to save - showing the sharpest decline, down by 5.9 percent to hit 21 points from 22.4 in January.        

The financial situation expectation index was the second-worst performer, slipping by 2.2 percent from the previous month to 85.9 points.   
     
The number of people unemployed anticipation index - a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market - was down 1.4 percent compared to the previous month, at 67.9 points.
        
Turkey’s general economic situation index was the least hit figure in the month, decreasing only by 0.7 percent to reach 88 points in February.