Turkish factory activity expanded 11.2% in December

ISTANBUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Turkey’s industrial production is expected to have expanded 11.2% annually in December, rising for a 18th consecutive month in a sustained burst of economic activity since the lifting of coronavirus measures, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.

Output was strong despite a volatile selloff in the lira currency that month that upended company and household budgets, and sent inflation soaring via import prices.

The median estimate in the Reuters poll of six institutions showed year-on-year growth of 11.2% in the calendar-adjusted industrial production index in December.

Forecasts ranged between 9.2% and 13.3%.

Jumps in utility prices and scattered curbs to power use could weigh on industrial production in January, analysts say. read more

In April of 2020, output plummeted more than 31% in the face of the initial coronavirus wave, but it has since made a strong recovery because subsequent measures largely skirted the manufacturing sector. All virus measures were lifted in July.

Turkey’s economy is expected to have grown around 10% in 2021, rebounding powerfully after a sharp slowdown a year earlier driven by COVID-19 restrictions.

The Turkish Statistical Institute will announce December industrial production figures on Feb. 11 at 0700 GMT.

Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Jonathan Spicer

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.