Turkey: Consumer confidence index at 58.2 in January

ANKARA (AA): Turkish consumers’ confidence in the country’s economy dropped this month, Turkey’s statistical authority said on Wednesday. The consumer confidence index decreased 0.9 percent on a monthly basis in January, TurkStat data showed.

Last month the figure was 58.7, down 2.3 percent from November 2018. The index value is calculated through cooperation between TurkStat and the Central Bank by measuring consumers’ tendencies.

Last year, the index value ranged between 73.1 and 58.7 — the highest in July, and the lowest in December.

The number of people who expect a better financial situation for their household in the next 12-month period rose 2.4 percent month-on-month to 77.1 in January.

Last month’s general economic situation expectation index of 76 climbed 0.6 percent this month to 76.5.

The probability of saving index — showing consumers’ tendency to save money over the next 12 month-period — fell the most this month, down 19.2 percent from December 2018.

The number of people unemployed expectation index inched slightly down from 0.1 percent last month, hitting 60.86 in January, meaning fewer people expected a fall in unemployment. Consumers’ assessments and expectations in nearly 20 economic and financial categories are measured in monthly tendency surveys.

The consumer confidence index calculated from the survey results is evaluated within a range of 0-200, indicating an optimistic outlook when the index is above 100, and a pessimistic one when it is below.