Capacity usage rate inches up to 77.8 pct in April

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in Turkey’s manufacturing industry rose on a monthly basis in April, data from the country’s Central Bank have shown.

The economy’s key manufacturing sector used 77.8 percent of its capacity this month, up from 77.3 in March.

In April last year, the capacity utilization rate in the manufacturing industry was 75.9 percent.

In the food and drink sector, the capacity utilization rate was 72.7 percent in April, rising slightly from the previous month’s 70 percent.

Companies operating in the non-durable consumer goods industry reported a CUR of 75.7 percent, which was higher than March’s 76.3 percent. The capacity usage in the intermediate goods manufacturing sector climbed from 78.7 percent in March to 79.7 percent in April.

However, the durable consumer goods manufacturing sector saw its capacity utilization decline from 75 percent last month to 74.2 percent in April, while the CUR in the consumer goods industry declined slightly from 75.5 percent to 75.4 percent.

The CUR was 74.8 percent in the capital goods manufacturing sector, down from 76 percent in March.

Business confidence increased

Separate data the Central Bank released yesterday showed that business morale improved.

The real sector business confidence index advanced from 108.5 in March to 109.7 percent in April.

The 100-point level on the index separates optimism from pessimism.
The sub-index, which measures firms’ assessment of the general business situation, climbed from 79.2 in March to 83.6 percent in April.

The index for fixed investment expenditure rose from 124.4 to 129 percent, and the index for the total amount of orders received in the last three months increased from 107.6 to 113.2 percent.

However, the Central Bank’s regular survey also showed that the index for export orders in the next three months retreated from 124.1 in March to 123.4 percent in April.

The Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) yesterday also released business confidence data for the retail, construction and retail industries.

The TÜİK data showed that businesses in those three industries rebounded.

The confidence index in the retail sector improved 3 percent on a monthly basis in April, after falling by a sharp 6.2 percent in March.

The confidence index for the retail sector, which was down 3.1 percent month on month in March, rose by 2.9 percent in April, while the index for the construction industry increased by 3 percent from March, after registering a 2 percent decline.