ANKARA
Turkish Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in July compared with the same month last year, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported on Tuesday.
Manufacturing increased 0.2 percent, and the electricity, gas, steam and the air conditioning supply index rose 2.4 percent year-on-year in July.
But overall industrial production decreased by 1.5 percent in July from June 2015.
In the subsectors of manufacturing, the highest increase was in the manufacture of wood and products of wood and cork (except furniture) by 4.5 percent from June; the manufacture of leather and related products was up 4.2 percent and the manufacture of wearing apparel increased 4.0 percent in July from June 2015.
"Domestic consumption may have slowed somewhat in the current political context," explained Bora Tamer Yilmaz, an economist with Ziraat Securities in Istanbul.
"Until recently, consumer spending has been high: for example, automobile purchases were up 38 percent in August," Yilmaz explained. "But, with an election ahead in November, consumers may have become somewhat more nervous. The continuing drop in the value of the lira is also putting the brakes on consumer spending."
All of this has a dampening effect on industrial orders, Yilmaz said.
