Consumer confidence index rises in Turkey

ANKARA Turkey's consumer confidence index was higher month-on-month in July, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data revealed on Thursday. The consumer confidence index is seen as a vital gauge of the overall health of the economy, indicating people's sentiments about spending their money, which in turn gives clues about economic vitality. The index saw an increase of 1.9 percent to 71.3 in July from the previous month, TurkStat said. All sub-indexes except general economic situation expectation were higher, according to the data. The probability of saving index -- indicating people’s expectation on earning enough money to save -- showed the sharpest increase, up 5.8 percent to hit 23.3 in the month from 22.1 in June. The unemployment expectations index -- a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market -- increased by 5.2 percent to reach 74.4 in July. "The financial situation expectation of household index increased by 2.1 percent compared with the previous month and became 91.9 in July," TurkStat said. However, general economic situation expectation saw a decrease of 1.6 percent month-on-month to 95.7 in the month.