According to the monthly consumer tendency survey released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), the consumer confidence index* in Turkey, which stood at 79.3 points in January, was up by a marginal amount month on month in March this year to 79.4 points, having previously decreased by 1.3 percent month on month in February.
According to the indices based on individual questions asked of Turkish consumers concerning the consumer tendency, in March the index for the general current economic situation decreased by 4.4 percent month on month to 49.9 points, while the index for the general economic situation in the next 12 months went up by 0.4 percent compared to December to 74.9 points.
Meanwhile, in the given month, the index for whether the present is a good time to purchase durable goods increased by 10.3 percent to 55.7 points, while the index for the probability of buying durable goods in the next 12 months moved down by 0.5 percent to 97.0 points, both on month-on-month basis.
In March, the probability of buying a car in the next 12 months was up by 8.5 percent to 19.2 points and the index for the probability of buying or building a home in the next 12 months increased by 10.2 percent to 10.7 points, both month on month.
*When the index is above 100 it indicates an optimistic outlook, when it is equal to 100 it indicates a neutral outlook and below 100 it points to a pessimistic outlook.