ANKARA

Turkish consumers' confidence in the economy surged in March, the country's statistical authority announced Thursday.

On a monthly basis, the consumer confidence index climbed 2.7 percent to stand at 59.4 this month.

The index value is jointly calculated by TurkStat and the Central Bank through measurement of consumer tendencies.

Last month, the figure was 57.8, down 0.7 percent from 58.2 in January.

In 2018, the index value hovered between 72.7 and 57.6 -- the highest posted in July and the lowest in October.

On nearly 20 economic and financial criteria, consumers’ assessments and expectations for the next 12 months are measured in monthly tendency surveys.

The index is calculated from the survey results on a range of 0-200, with above 100 indicating an optimistic outlook, and below 100 a pessimistic outlook.

"The general economic situation expectation index, which was 75 in February, increased by 4.9 percent to 78.6 in March," TurkStat said.

This month, the index for consumer expectations of a better financial situation stood at 78.3, up from 75.2 in February.

"The number of people unemployed expectation index -- 59 in February -- decreased by 0.1 percent to 58.9 in March," the institute said.

Consumers' tendency to save money for the next 12-month period also showed almost no change -- 22 in March versus 22.02 in February.

The country's statistical authority will release the next survey results on April 22.