Turkish Manufacturing Capacity Utilization At 20-Month Low, Business Confidence Improves

Turkey’s manufacturing capacity utilization rate declined at the start of the year to the lowest level in twenty months, while factory confidence strengthened amid hopes of an increase in domestic orders, figures from the central bank showed on Wednesday.

The capacity utilization rate fell to 75.3 percent in January from 76.5 percent in December.

Further, this was the lowest ratio since May 2021, when it was also 75.3 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the capacity utilization rate declined to 75.8 percent in January from 76.4 percent in the previous month.

Separate data from the central bank showed that the non-adjusted manufacturing confidence index rose to a five-month high of 101.7 in January from 97.8 in December.

Domestic orders were expected to increase over the next three months, while export bookings and employment were forecast to decline in the near future.

The seasonally adjusted manufacturing confidence index improved to 103.4 in January from 101.6 in the previous month.