Consumer confidence bounces back in March


Turkey's consumer confidence index rose in March, as revealed in a Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) report yesterday.The index rose from 65.7 points in February to 67.8 in March, up by 2.1 points or 3.2 percent, according to the report. Meanwhile, the general economic situation expectations index saw the biggest improvement, up 5.8 percent to reach 93.2 points in March.The unemployment expectations index, a gauge of sentiment about the health of the labor market, also experienced a rise of 3.7 percent to reach 70.4 points, suggesting people were more optimistic about finding jobs during this period.The financial situation expectations of the households index saw the softest improvement, rising 2.1 percent from February to attain 87.8 points. However, the probability of saving index was down 5.6 percent at 19.9 points. The consumer confidence index is seen as a vital gauge of the overall health of the economy, indicating people's sentiments about spending, which in turn gives clues to economic vitality.