Turkey: Business confidence jumps in January
After three consecutive months of declines, the Real Sector Confidence Index published by the Central Bank rose to 108.3 in January, from 103.3 in the previous month. The index remains above the 100-point threshold that separates optimism from pessimism among firms, where it has been since last February.
Although firms’ assessment of their current and past order books worsened slightly from the previous month, their view of future economic conditions became markedly more optimistic than in December, driving January’s reading. Businesses’ expectations of their output level and export order growth in the next three months sharply improved. They were also more optimistic about hiring and engaging in new fixed investment projects. Finally, their view of the general business situation improved marginally compared to December.