Turkey: Consumer confidence stable in January
Consumer sentiment was unchanged in Turkey at the start of the new year, as the index remained at 58.8 in January. While sentiment started this year on a slightly stronger footing compared to levels seen at the beginning of last year, the index, however, remained firmly entrenched below the neutral 100-mark that separates pessimism from optimism among Turkish households.
The stable reading reflected an improvement on the outlook on the financial situation and the general economic situation in in the year ahead offsetting a deterioration in labor market views—with more people expecting unemployment to increase—and their probability to save. The latter is likely influenced by the strong easing cycle of the Central Bank since the appointment of Murat Uysal in July last year. Since then the interest rate has been cut by 1,275 basis points, which consequently has brought the real interest rate into negative territory.