Capacity usage rises but business morale deteriorates in May

ANKARA

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) in the manufacturing sector increased, but business morale declined in May, separate data from the Central Bank showed on May 22.

The CUR rose from 74.3 percent in April to 75 percent in May, said the bank.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CUR index increased 0.7 points monthly to 75.1 percent.

In the durable consumer goods sector, the CUR improved from 71.9 percent to 72.3 percent, while it rose from 72.7 percent to 73.3 percent in the non-durable consumer goods sector.

In the capital goods manufacturing sector, companies used 73.6 percent of their capacity in May, up from 73.2 percent in the previous month.

The bank also reported that the seasonally adjusted real sector confidence index declined from 100.8 in April to 98.6 in May.

The unadjusted index also fell from 103.2 to 101.4.

Separate data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on May 22 that confidence in the services sector ticked up 0.9 percent monthly to 110.5 in May after falling 4.3 percent in April.

In the retail sector, confidence, which was down 2.5 percent in April, rose by 0.6 percent to 111.2, while in the construction sector, the gauge of sentiment advanced 3.9 percent against the 4.2 percent decline.