Turkish consumer confidence index down in August

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Consumer confidence in Turkey's economy fell by 1.6% in August, the country's statistical authority said on Monday.

The consumer confidence index, jointly calculated by TurkStat and the Central Bank through the measurement of consumer tendencies, hit 78.2, down from 79.5 in July.

It is calculated from survey results, and evaluated within the range of 0-200, indicating optimism when the index is above 100 and pessimism when below.

The financial situation expectation of households index fell by 5.8% to 61.3, suggesting that fewer people are expecting a better financial situation in the next 12 months.

The general economic situation expectation index in the next 12 months, which was 83.2 in July, also decreased by 9.6% to 75.3 in August.

However, the assessment on spending money on durable goods index for the next year rose by 0.7% to reach 97.7. It was 97 in July.

The monthly survey measures consumers' assessments and expectations on financial standing and general economic situation, as well as their expenditure and saving tendencies.