Business morale improves, capacity utilization rises in April

ANKARA

Business morale improved while the capacity utilization rate in the key manufacturing sector increased in April, separate data from the Central Bank showed on April 24.

The real sector confidence index rose 1.6 percent month-on-month in April to 106.1. This also marked the index’s highest level since July last year when the gauge of business sentiment was 106.8.

Any index figure above the 100 mark indicates optimism among businesses.

The sub-index of the general business situation rose from 91.1 in March to 92.9 in April, according to the Central Bank survey.

The indices for output volume and export orders in the next month surged in April, while the month-on-month rise in the sub-index of current orders was 1.7 percent.

The index of total employment in the next three months inched up from 108.8 last month to 109.1 in April.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) separately reported on April 24 that the confidence in the retail sector rose 1.9 percent in April after declining 1 percent in the previous month.

In the services sector, confidence among businesses, which rose 1.5 percent in March, fell 2.8 percent.

In the construction sector, the confidence index remained unchanged after plunging 3.6 percent in March.

Capacity usage increased

The capacity utilization rate in the key manufacturing sector climbed from 76.2 percent in March to 76.7 percent in April, the Central Bank also said on April 24.

In the durable consumer goods sector, companies used 75.1 percent of their capacity, up from 73.8 percent in March.

In the non-durable consumer goods sector, the capacity utilization rate was 72.6 percent in April, declining slightly from 73.1 percent.

Companies in the consumer goods sector worked at 73 percent capacity in April, while in the intermediate goods manufacturing sector, it was 77 percent.

In the capital goods sector, the capacity usage declined from 76.5 percent in March to 75.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank’s Investment Tendency Survey showed that more companies — in the spring period compared to the fall of 2023 — in the manufacturing sector said their investments would increase this year compared with last year.

The survey monitors the investment tendencies in the manufacturing industry by taking assessments of the senior managers about the current and near-future investment plans as well as the structure of the investments and factors influencing investments.