Industrial production in Türkiye climbed 7% on an annual basis in December, while posting a monthly increase of 5%, official data from the country's statistical authority revealed on Monday.
This marked the strongest expansion in industrial activity since February last year when the output surged by over 11% annually, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data revealed.
Among subindexes, the output accelerated sharply for manufacturing as well as for the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index.
Accordingly, the manufacturing index rose by 6.8% year-over-year and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index jumped by 11.4% in December 2024, the data showed. The mining and quarrying index, on the other hand, advanced by 1.8% over the same period.
Monthly, the industrial production index rose by 5%, TurkStat said, also led by a strong uptick in manufacturing.
The mining and quarrying index increased by 2.2%, the manufacturing index by 5.6%, and the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index by 0.4% in December compared to the month earlier, the institute said.
The high-tech group stood out considering the pace of expansion, both on a monthly and yearly basis. The output from the group increased by 51.6% monthly and 43.5% annually, repsectively.
The reading was welcomed by Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır, who in a post on social media called the high-tech group "the locomotive of production."
"Türkiye continues on its path with high technology and value-added production," Kacır said on X.
Industrial output in Türkiye expanded by 1.6% on an annual basis in November following a period of contraction amid tighter monetary policy.
Yet, a rebound was witnessed in the sector in the last quarter and production surged by 0.4% throughout the year, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.
The index serves as an important tool for forecasting future gross domestic product (GDP) and economic performance.
"Following the contraction in industrial production in the second and third quarters of last year, there was a strong increase of 3.4% in the last quarter. Thus, industrial production increased by 0.4% throughout the year," he said on Monday, commenting on the output and unemployment data.
"Despite the weak course of external demand and the short-term effects of disinflation in 2024, our economy continued to produce and create employment," Şimşek said on X.
The data from TurkStat earlier showed that the jobless rate in the country slipped by 0.1 percentage points to 8.5% in December.
"In 2024, employment increased by 984,000 people annually, while the unemployment rate decreased by 0.7 points to 8.7%, its lowest level since 2012," he said.
"The Turkish economy is much more resilient and much stronger in terms of macro-financial stability today with the gains we have achieved thanks to the program."
