ANKARA
Turkish industrial production was up sharply in June, as manufacturing and energy output surged, the Turkish Institute for Statistics reported on Friday.
Industrial production increased 5.5 percent in June, compared with the same month last year, the report said. Production was also up 2.4 percent from May 2015.
The improvement exceeded analyst estimates: an AA Finance survey had forecast a 1.1 percent increase from May.
The largest increase was in durable consumer goods with a 13.3 percent jump in June from the previous month.
The manufacturing index increased by 6.9 percent, and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index increased by 1.4 percent in June 2015, compared with the same month last year.
Within manufacturing, the largest increase was in the manufacture of transport equipment by 32.9 percent, followed by the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, up 19.8 percent, and the manufacture of machinery and equipment, improving 12.0 percent in June compared with the previous month.
"Relatively strong domestic demand this year helped Turkish industries," commented Bora Tamer Yilmaz, an economist with Ziraat Securities in Istanbul.
"Car and domestic appliance sales are surging. That may be related to an increase in consumer purchasing power. The Financial Stability Committee's measures last year [controls on consumer credit] helped Turkish households to deleverage. Combined with deferred demand, household balance sheets seem to be in a better position, creating additional demand," Yilmaz noted.
Increased exports of intermediate goods to German manufacturers also helped industrial production to move higher, Yilmaz added.
