Economy on track to full recovery with gains in industrial production

Turkey's industrial production continued its upward trend for the sixth month in a row in April, surging 15.6 percent year-on-year as the economy rebounds from the global recession. The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) yesterday released its report on the industrial production index in May, a short-term indicator calculated to measure the well-being of the economy from a production standpoint. According to the report, the calendar-adjusted increase in the industrial production index from one year ago was 15.1 percent. The index rose 3.7 percent from April to May. When both calendar and seasonally adjusted, though, the index gained 1.9 percent during the same period. Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun, commenting on the figures, said the results show the economy will continue to grow in the second quarter. Based on the indicators, he predicted economic growth will reach 6-8 percent year-on-year in Q2.