Capacity utilization of Turkey's manufacturing sector rose to 77.3% in March, posting a slight rise from a month ago, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) said Friday.

The capacity utilization rate (CUR) of the manufacturing industry inched up by 0.7 percentage points from 76.6% in February.

The CUR figures are based on the responses given to a business tendency survey by local units operating in the manufacturing industry, according to the bank.

The monthly data does not reflect the bank's views or predictions, it said, adding that 1,761 companies responded to the survey in March.

Among the main industrial groups, the highest CUR was 78.7 for intermediate goods, while the lowest was 75% for durable consumer goods.