Turkish manufacturing activity returns to growth in February

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s manufacturing activity returned to growth in February amid signs of improving customer demand, data provider S&P Global revealed on Friday.

"Firms also increased their purchasing activity, but shortages of staff and difficulties sourcing raw materials meant that employment and stocks of purchases were scaled back," it said.

Meanwhile, the rate of input cost inflation softened slightly but output prices increased at the fastest pace since August 2023, the data provider said.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of the manufacturing sector was at 50.2 level in February, up from 49.2 in January.

Andrew Harker, the economic director at S&P Global, said: "A renewed expansion in output provided a boost to the Turkish manufacturing sector in February and suggests that we should see some solid growth numbers come through in the official data in the months ahead."

"Although new orders continued to moderate, the news here was also promising as demand neared stabilization. Firms will be hoping that new order trends can join those for output in growth mode in the near future," Harker added.

Mehmet Simsek, the Turkish treasury and finance minister, said on X that PMI is above the 50 level after eight months, indicating growth in the manufacturing industry.

The PMI, which has been increasing for two months, shows that Türkiye has made a good start to the year in industrial production, he said.

"With the recovery in the European Union, our main trading partner, the manufacturing industry will strengthen further," Simsek added.