Turkish consumers gaining faith in economy

ANKARA

Turkish consumers’ mood continued to pick up at a faster pace in April as the consumer confidence index rose by 7.9 percent to 78.5 points by the end of the month.

The index, prepared through the collaboration of the Central Bank and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), rose to 72.7 points in March after hitting its lowest level in four years at 69.2 in February due to growing political concerns, as well as pressures from high interest rates and volatile currency rates.

The indices range between 0 and 200 points, with numbers in excess of 100 indicate an optimistic outlook, while those below signal pessimism.

The April index figures announced yesterday show that optimism in Turkey’s general economy over the past 12 months is returning after the March 30 local elections that partially calmed latent political tension.

The financial expectation for household income over the next 12 months is 94.9 points, marking an increase of 3.8 percent compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the probability of the savings index for the next 12 months increased by 10.4 percent compared to the previous month, rising from 24.1 in March to 26.6 percent in April.