Turkey: Industrial production rises nearly 10 percent in first quarter

ANKARA

Turkey’s calendar-adjusted industrial production rose 9.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced on May 16.

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

The country’s industrial production also increased by 7.6 percent in March compared with the same month of the previous year, TÜİK added.

Among three main sub-indices, the mining and quarrying index saw the highest annual increase in March, with 10.7 percent.

The manufacturing index rose 7.9 percent, while the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply index was up 2.9 percent during the same period.

The data also showed industrial production climbed slightly 0.2 percent on a monthly basis in March.

Among all sub-sectors of the seasonal and calendar-adjusted industrial sector, manufacturing was the only sub-sector to see a rise month-on-month in March with an increase of 0.4 percent.

The mining and quarrying index, and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index decreased by 2.1 percent and 0.4 percent respectively in this period.