Turkey's Consumer Confidence hits record low

Turkey’s currency crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar, driving prices higher, making imports, fuel and everyday goods more expensive. Many people in the country of more than 83 million are struggling to buy food and to provide for other basic needs.

The consumer confidence index decreased to 68.9 in December, down 3.1% from 71.1 in November, and hit an all-time low, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

The index is a vital gauge of the economy’s overall performance, indicating people’s sentiments on financial standing and the general economic situation, along with expenditure and saving tendencies.

All sub-indices deteriorated in the month with the financial situation expectation over the next 12 months weakening the most.

“The financial situation expectation of household index in the next 12-month period which was 68.9 in November decreased by 5.3% and became 65.2 in December,” TurkStat said.

The financial situation of household index at present compared with last year slipped 3.6% to 54.1 in the month.

The general economic situation expectation index in the next 12-month period dropped 2.2% month-on-month to 66.7 in December.

“Assessment on spending money on durable goods index over next 12 months compared to the past 12-month period which was 91.4 in November decreased by 1.9% and became 89.6 in December,” it added.

The consumer confidence index is calculated from survey results and evaluated within a range of 0-200, indicating an optimistic outlook when the index is above 100 and a pessimistic one when it is below.​