Turkey's industrial production, capacity utilization tumble in October

Turkey's economy has grown some 7 percent annually since a 2001 financial crisis but activity has slumped due to a slide in domestic and foreign demand as the global financial crisis takes its toll on the emerging market economy.

 

The 8.5 percent fall in industrial production, announced by the Turkish Statistics Institute, exceeded a 7.5 percent of market consensus. In September, industrial output had fallen 5.5 percent - the worst performance since December 2001.

 

The Turkish government is currently working on a loan accord with the International Monetary Fund to underpin the economy and replace a $10 billion stand-by accord which expired in May.Â

 

It has also announced a series of measures designed to ease access to credit and boost economic activity. Turkish financial markets have been battered by the global crisis.

 

The manufacturing sector shrank 10.3 percent year-on-year in October, the mining sector grew 15.4 percent while utilities shrank 1.5 percent.

 

The statistics institute also announced on Friday that capacity utilization fell 9.7 percentage points year-on-year in November to 72.9 percent.

 

Capacity utilization, a leading indicator of manufacturing industry and economic growth, had stood at 76.7 percent in October