Turkey's consumer confidence up following coup attempt

By Bahattin Gonultas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s consumer confidence index for August rose by more than 11 percent month-on-month, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said Tuesday.

The index, which measures consumer spending and saving as a reflection of optimism or pessimism in the economy, jumped from 67.03 in July to 94.44 in August.

TurkStat measures consumer perception on a zero to 200 axis, with a score of more than 100 showing overall optimism and less than 100 showing pessimism.

The outlook for the general economy, personal fin­ance and employment also rose this month.

The figures reflected the public’s growing confidence in the wake of last month’s coup attempt, Bora Tamer Yilmaz, an economist at Ziraat Securities, told Anadolu Agency.

“The probability that last month’s strong number reflected the solidarity of the people turned into a certainty,” he said. “Citizens have full faith in the government and other institutional economic policy agents such as the Banks Association or Central Bank.

“In evaluating recent developments as an attack on their own soil, people prefer uniting around a common cause instead of shying away and expressing pessimism.”

He added that the resilience of the Turkish lira reflected confidence in the domestic economy.

“Further measures by the government targeting mortgage rates and relaxing financial conditions shall bode well for consumers and may help them keep their confidence high.”