Industrial production up seven months in a row

Turkey's industrial output rose for the seventh month running in June, showing a 10.2 percent gain compared to one year ago, slightly above market expectations. Industrial production was also up by 2.2 percent in June over the preceding month, according to Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) data released yesterday. The calendar-adjusted increase in the industrial production index from one year ago was 10.4 percent. When adjusted for both calendar and seasonal factors, however, the index dropped 2.1 percent from May to June. Speaking on the figures, Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun said they indicate that economic growth will be high in the second quarter, too, though perhaps not as strong in the first quarter. With 10.2 percent growth in June, the index, a short-term indicator calculated to measure the well-being of the economy from a production standpoint, reached its peak for the past two years, while also approaching pre-crisis levels. In June 2008, industrial production was 121.7, while it currently stands at 120.6. Output rose by a record 25.2 percent last December, before rising 12.1 percent in January, both year-on-year. February saw an even better recovery with an 18.1 percent rise in industrial production year-on-year. This was followed with 21.2 percent year-on-year growth in March. In the following months, growth started to fall, however. April registered a 17.3 percent rise, followed by 15.5 percent in May, both year-on-year. Ergun attributed the slowdown in growth to a base effect due to less contraction in the same period last year.