Business sentiment softens, capacity usage slips in June
ANKARA
The Turkish manufacturing showed signs of moderation in June, while business sentiment deteriorated slightly, separate official data showed on June 23.
The unadjusted headline manufacturing sector capacity utilization rate (CUR) fell from 75 percent in May to 74.6 percent, the Central Bank reported.
The decline was most notable in durable consumer goods, where utilization dropped from 72.3 percent to 69.5 percent.
Investment goods also saw a dip to 71.9 percent, while consumer goods eased slightly to 72.8 percent.
In the food sector, companies used 74 percent of their capacity, down from 74.4 percent.
On the upside, non-durable consumer goods and intermediate goods posted marginal gains, rising to 73.5 percent and 75.1 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, confidence among Turkish businesses continued to erode in June, with the Real Sector Confidence Index (RSCI slipping to its lowest level in ten months, according to data released on June 24 by the Central Bank.
The seasonally adjusted RSCI fell by 0.2 points to 98.4, while the unadjusted index dropped by 1.1 points to 100.3, reflecting a growing sense of caution across the business landscape.
Any figure below the 100-mark indicates pessimism among businesses.
The sub-index measuring the real sector’s assessment of the general business situation retreated from 87.8 in May to 85.4, while the sub-index of total orders in the past three months fell from 96.3 to 94.
The sub-index of export orders in the next three months climbed from 104.9 to 105.1.
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) separately reported confidence data in the key services, retail and construction sectors in June.
The monthly increase in the confidence index in the services sector slowed from 0.9 percent in May to 0.4 percent to 110.9 points.
In the retail sector, confidence, which rose 0.6 percent monthly, plunged 2.5 percent in June compared to May, as expectations for business volume in the next three months dipped.
In the construction sector, confidence among businesses declined 1.7 percent month-on-month in June after surging 3.9 percent month-on-month in May.
