The consumer confidence index increased by 6.1 in August from July, rising for a second straight month, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.
The headline gauge of consumer morale climbed from 68 in July to 72 in August. Any index figure above the 100-mark indicates optimism among consumers.
All major sub-indices of the confidence index exhibited increases on a monthly basis, TÜİK data showed.
The sub-index measuring households’ assessment of the current financial situation advanced by a strong 16 percent in August from July, after rising 4.2 percent in the previous month.
Households’ expectations regarding the financial situation in the next 12 months also improved in August with the respective index up 7.5 percent. However, the pace of increase in the sub-index slowed from July’s 12.2 percent.
The sub-index measuring households’ expectations regarding the economic outlook in the next 12 months, which rose by 15.2 percent month-on-month in July, increased by 2.7 percent in August.
The consumer tendency survey, which the TÜİK and the Central Bank conduct regularly, also showed that people’s perception of the current economic situation compared with the past 12 months improved this month from July.
Participants of the survey said they expect the job market to improve in the next 12 months, with the respective sub-index, which rose 5.2 percent in July, rising 4.7 percent. Any increase in the index indicates that people expect a decline in the number of people unemployed.
The unemployment rate in Türkiye eased from 10.6 percent in May to 10.3 percent in June, TÜİK reported earlier this month. The number of unemployed people fell from 3.68 million to 3.54 million.
Survey participants said they expect inflation to drop in the next 12 months. However, the related sub-index rose by 5.2 percent in August, after increasing 13 percent in July. Any increase in the index means people expect consumer prices to decline.
Consumer prices increased by 2.37 percent month-on-month in July. The annual increase in the consumer price index quickened from 78.6 percent in June to 79.6 percent last month.
Hurriyet Daily News