Turkish consumer confidence index slips in August

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s consumer confidence index saw a slight decline month-on-month in August, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), released on Aug. 23.

The index decreased by 0.3 percent to 71.1 in August from 71.3 in July, TÜİK said.

The consumer confidence index is seen as a vital gauge of the overall health of the economy, indicating people’s sentiments about spending their money, which in turn gives clues about economic vitality.

According to the new data, among all sub-indices of the main index, Turkey’s general economic situation index was the best performer, increasing by 2.3 percent to 97.9 in August, up from 95.7 in July. 

“This increase shows the number of consumers expecting a better, general economic situation in the next 12 months has increased compared to the previous month,” the report read.

However, the probability of saving index—indicating people’s expectation of earning enough money to save—showed the sharpest decline, decreasing by 4 percent to 22.4 in August from 23.3 in July. 

The number of people unemployed expectation index—a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market—also decreased by 2.6 percent to 72.4 in August.

“This decline stemmed from the decrease in people expecting a fall in the number of unemployed persons in the next 12 months,” TÜİK stated.

The financial situation expectation of household index remained the same this month, standing at 91.9 in August.