Turkey’s consumer confidence hit a 2 1/2 year high in February, the country’s statistical authority announced Thursday.

The consumer confidence index stood at 84.5 this month, up 1.5% from 83.3 in January, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said. It marked the highest level since August 2018.

Measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic brought the economy to a near standstill in April, when consumer confidence declined.

The index dropped 2.2% in November as Turkey reintroduced stricter measures and remained flat in December.

Among subindices, the current financial situation of the household index, compared to the last 12 months, increased 4.1% to 66.3 in February, versus 63.7 in January.

The financial situation expectation of the household index in the next 12 months reached 84.5, rising 0.8% month on month.

The general economic situation expectation index in the next 12 months stood at 91.7 in the month, up 4% on a monthly basis.

Assessment on spending money on the durable goods index over the next 12 months, compared to the past 12 months, fell 1.9% to 95.5 in February from 97.3 in January.

The index value is jointly calculated by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) through the measurement of consumer tendencies.

The consumer confidence index is evaluated within a range of 0-200, indicating an optimistic outlook when the index is above 100 and a pessimistic one when it is below.