Capacity utilization rises in May

Bloomberg

Manufacturers used 70.4 percent of their capacity last month compared with 66.8 percent in April, the statistics office said on its Web site yesterday.

Meanwhile, forecasts for inflation in 12 months rose to 6.59 percent from 6.49 percent two weeks earlier, the Central Bank said in its biweekly survey of businessmen and economists.

The inflation rate in 24 months will be 6.45 percent, compared to a forecast of 6.42 percent two weeks earlier, the Ankara-based Bank said in a statement on its Web site Tuesday. The Bank is aiming for consumer-price growth of 7.5 percent this year and 6.5 percent in 2010.The economy will contract 4.2 percent this year, the survey said.