Turkey's economic confidence index drops in February

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Economic confidence in Turkey slipped month-on-month in February, falling 1.8 percent, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said on Tuesday.

The economic confidence index dropped to 103, down from 104.9 in January, the TurkStat said in a statement.

This decline stemmed from the decreases in consumer, real sector, services, retail trade and construction confidence indices. The five indices declined to 72.3, 110.8, 100.7, 104.7 and 83.8, respectively.

In August 2017, Turkey’s economic confidence rose to its highest level --106.4 -- in more than five years, helping the Turkish lira strengthen against the dollar.

According to TurkStat, the index indicates an optimistic outlook on the general economic situation when it is above 100, or a pessimistic outlook when it is below 100.

"The economic confidence index is a composite index, encapsulating the evaluations, expectations, and tendencies of both consumers and producers on the general economic situation," TurkStat said.

The next economic confidence figures are due to release on March 27.