Turkey's industrial output goes down 2% y-o-y in March

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's industrial production saw a decline of 2% year-on-year in March 2020, the country's statistical authority said on Thursday.

Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed that all three main sub-indices -- mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning -- dropped 5.6%, 1.9% and 0.9%, respectively, in March.

Industrial production is considered a vital indicator for the economy, for it is seen as a preliminary gauge for the GDP growth.

Meanwhile, the figure, on a monthly basis, was down 7.1% in March.

In the EU, the industrial production index was down 11.8% year-on-year.

In the first quarter of this year, several sectors, especially manufacturing, were affected by the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic, such as curfews.