Consumer confidence edges up in September

Consumer confidence in Turkey rose by one percent in September the country's statistics authority, TurkStat said on Monday, suggesting economic optimism among Turkish people is on the rise. The consumer confidence index rose from 73.2 points in August to 74 points this month, a 0.8-point increase on the 0-200 scale of confidence, TurkStat reported.

The CCI shows how confident consumers feel about the stability of their incomes and serves as one of the key indicators for the overall shape of the economy.

Expectations for the wider economy over the next 12 months rose by 2.3 points from 99.8 points in August to 102.1 points in September, suggesting a degree of optimism in the Turkish economy. Unemployment is expected to decline with the index, which reflects the general outlook of the labor climate, rising by one point on last month's figures to 78.7 points in September. A score of more than 100 indicates economic optimism while a figure below 100 indicates a gloomy outlook.

Consumers are also more confident of being able to save money in the coming year, as the savings index soared by 0.9 percent compared to August. However, the expectation for household income over the next 12 months was 91.2 points, a decrease of 2.3 points compared to the previous month.