Turkey's industrial production increased 5.8 percent in February compared to the same month of the previous year, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data. Thanks to improvements in the mining and manufacturing sectors, the production level reached a six-month high. Mining production rose 7.7 percent year-on-year while manufacturing saw a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase. The power and air conditioning supply sectors saw a 2.6 percent rise as well.
Regarding the numbers, Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık said this high increase in industrial production demonstrates how economic activity persists in the country. Işık added that the performance of the industry signals economic stability and implies strong growth in 2016, as well, like the 5.7-percent growth Turkey experienced in the final quarter of 2015. Stressing that industrial production started gaining momentum toward the end of 2015 and has continued to increase this year, Işık drew particular attention to the rise in the manufacturing sector, which experienced 6.2 percent growth. According to Işık, this increase will remarkably contribute to Turkey's economic growth in the first quarter.
Işık also said industrial production will be positively affected by the revival of the eurozone's demand fueled by the European Central Bank's (ECB) stimulus package, abolition of sanctions imposed on Iran connected to its nuclear program and Turkey seeking alternative markets. Işık added that all these elements will contribute to strengthening exports as well as arouse production and investment appetites. Additionally, seasonally and calendar-adjusted industrial production increased 0.5 percent compared to the previous month.
When looking at industry subsectors, the mining and quarrying index increased 5.5 percent and the manufacturing index increased 0.6 percent while the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply index decreased 1.7 percent in February 2016 compared to the previous month. The largest increase in the manufacturing sector was in computers, electronics and optical products, which increased 7.4 percent, followed by other non-metallic mineral products, up 5.8 percentv , and electrical equipment, up 5.6 percent, in February 2016 compared with the previous month.
The largest decreases experienced in manufacturing subsectors was in other transport equipment, down 25.5 percent, followed by coal and refined oil products, down 11.2 percent, and basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations, which fell 3.5 percent, in February 2016 compared with the previous month.
