Business confidence among Turkey’s industrialists rose to the highest level since April 2018, according to a monthly survey published by the central bank.
Confidence climbed to 110.8 points this month from 109.3 points in February, the central bank said on Friday. Any reading above 100 points reflects optimism.
The improvement was led by anticipated increases in the volume of output over the next three months, the survey showed. Companies also saw growth in employment, export orders and fixed investment, the bank said.
Turkey’s government is seeking to stimulate economic growth via the manufacturing industry and exports under an economic programme announced earlier this month. The economy is expected to expand by 6 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said in January.
Seasonally-adjusted capacity utilisation in the manufacturing industry rose to 75.6 percent in March from 75.5 percent in February, the central bank said.
A separate monthly survey by the Turkish Statistical Institute showed an increase in confidence in the services and retail sectors during March.
Sentiment in services improved to 105.5 points from 100.4 points in February, while confidence in the retail industry edged up to 109.2 points from 108.9 points, the institute said on Friday.
Construction sector confidence dropped to 79.8 points from 83.1 points.
Ahval