Turkey: Consumer confidence index rises in April

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's consumer confidence index was higher month-on-month in April, according to official data released on Thursday.

The index rose 5.1 percent to 71.3 in April from March, the Turkish Statistical Institute said in a report.

All sub-indexes were higher with the probability of saving index -- indicating people’s expectation on earning enough money to save -- showing the sharpest increase, up 26.3 percent to hit 25.1 points from 19.9 in March.

"The general economic situation expectation index which was 93.2 in March increased by 3.3 percent and became 96.2 in April. This increase shows that number of consumers expecting a better general economic situation in the next 12 months increased compared to the previous month," the institute said.

The unemployment expectations index, a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market, also saw a rise of 3.7 percent to 73.1 points.

The financial situation expectations of households index also rose 3.4 percent from March to attain 90.7 points suggesting that more people were expecting a better financial situation in the upcoming year.

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.