Consumer confidence rebounds from 6-year lows

Consumer confidence in Turkey recovered by 1.5 percent in April from a six-year low in March, with improvements in the probabilities of savings and unemployment expectations, according to the Consumer Confidence Index data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜ?K) on April 22.

The consumer confidence index, which was calculated from the results of the consumer tendency survey carried out in cooperation with TÜ?K and Central Bank of Turkey, increased by 1.5 percent in April to 65.35 in April, up from 64.39 in March.

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

The highest positive impact on the recovery came from the probability of consumers' savings, which increased by 8.5 percent to 22.37 in April from 20.61 in March. The increase shows that the possibility of consumers' saving in the next 12 months has increased compared to the previous month.

The unemployed expectation index increased by 2.2 percent compared to the previous month to 66.75 in April. The increase stemmed from a decrease in the ratio of people expecting an increase in the number of unemployed persons in the next 12 months.

The household financial situation expectation index increased by 0.9 percent compared to the previous month to 86.16 in April. 

The only negative impact came from the general economic situation expectation index, which fell by 0.2 percent in April to 86.12, down from 86.30 in March. The decrease shows that the number of consumers expecting a better general economic situation in the next 12 months decreased compared to the previous month.