Turkey: Consumer confidence index goes up in November

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The consumer confidence index in Turkey went up month-on-month in November, according to official data released on Thursday.

The index rose 4 percent to hit 59.6 this month from 57.3 points in October, a report from the Turkish Statistical Institute said.

All sub-indices of the main index, except number of people unemployed expectation index, were higher in the month.

The general economic situation expectations index saw the largest improvement, up 6.2 percent to reach 93.2 points.

The financial situation expectations of households index was the second-best performer, rising by 5.4 percent from last month to 77.5 points in November.

The probability of saving index -- indicating people’s expectation of earning enough money to save -- rose 4.8 percent to reach 20.1 points from 19.2 in October.

The number of people unemployed anticipation index -- a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market -- dropped 0.3 percent compared to last month, at 63.4 points.

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.