Turkey: Economic confidence higher in July

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Economic confidence in Turkey improved in July, rising 2 percent, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported on Monday.

The economic confidence index surged to 92.2 this month, up from 90.4 in June, TurkStat said in a statement, attributing the improvement to a rise in consumer, retail trade, construction and services sector confidence indices.

"Consumer, services, retail trade and construction confidence indices increased to 73.1, 91.9, 97.3 and 77.1 in July, respectively," TurkStat said.

However, the sub-index tracking real sector confidence fell month-on-month 1 percent during the month to 101.5.

The Economic Confidence Index is seen as a significant reading of the economic course as it is a composite index that aggregates sub-indices of consumer confidence, real sector services, retail trade and construction confidence indices, reflecting an overall sentiment of health of the economy.

"It indicates an optimistic outlook about the general economic situation when economic confidence index is above 100, whereas it indicates a pessimistic outlook when it is below 100," it said.