Turkish consumer confidence rises in first month of 2018
ANKARA - Anadolu Agency
Turkey’s consumer index rose significantly in January, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Jan. 23.
The consumer confidence index jumped 11.1 percent in January, to 72.3 points, from 65.1 points in December, according to the report, which was prepared jointly by the Central Bank and the TÜİK.
The uptick follows a downward trend in consumer confidence, which had started in August 2017.
The probability-of-saving index saw the largest improvement among sub-indices, suggesting more and more people expected to save money. The sub-index surged almost 50 percent to 26.2 points.
Attitudes regarding the general economic outlook rose 9.7 points, jumping from 87.5 to 96.1 points in January month-on-month.
Meanwhile, the expectation index for a decrease in the number of people unemployed in the next 12 months, a gauge of the health of the labor market, saw a rise of 5.4 points (7.7 percent).
The “financial situation expectation of the household” index also saw a rise of 7.3 percent, reaching 91.1 points.
Muammer Kömürcüoğlu, an economist at İş Investment, said the strong January figure was a sign that consumption appetite would continue.
“The strong rebound in the probability of buying a new car, a new home and a healthy outlook in spending money on durable goods is promising,” Kömürcüoğlu said.
