Turkey: Consumer confidence index at 58.8 in December

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish consumers’ confidence in the country’s economy was 58.8 in December, Turkey’s statistical authority revealed on Friday.

Consumer confidence in Turkish economy deteriorated this month after rising for two consecutive months.

The figure dropped 1.9% month-on-month in December, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said in a statement.

All sub-indices, except the probability of saving index, slipped compared to last month.

The number of people unemployed anticipation index fell the most with 2.9% as people are more pessimistic about finding jobs.

Sentiment on the general economic situation decreased 2.5% month-on-month in December.

The financial situation expectation of household reading also saw a slide of 2.1% during the same period.

However, the probability of saving index --indicating people’s expectation of earning enough money to save -- showed an improvement, going up 3.5% from last month.

The index value is jointly calculated by TurkStat and the Central Bank through measurement of consumer tendencies.

The consumer confidence index is seen as a vital gauge of the overall health of the economy, indicating people's sentiments about spending their money, which in turn gives clues about economic vitality.