UPDATE - Turkey: Industrial production up in August

UPDATE WITH INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY MINISTER'S COMMENTS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey’s industrial production expanded by 3.4% month-on-month in August and 10.4% annually, the country’s statistical authority said on Tuesday.

By sub-sectors, the intermediate goods index posted the highest monthly and annual increases in August with 13.6% and 4.8%, respectively, TurkStat announced.

With 12.6%, the durable consumer goods index posted the second-highest annual increase, followed by the manufacturing index with 11.4%.

The durable consumer goods index also posted a monthly decline of 4.6% in August, while only the energy index saw an annual drop with 0.8%.

Commenting on the figures, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said with the annual increase of 10.4% in industrial production, Turkey posted the best performance since January 2018.

“We are one of the fastest recovering countries in the industry,” Varank said on Twitter.

"Orders, investments, production and exports are continuing in manufacturing industry," he said, adding this revival will be reflected in employment and growth in the third quarter.