Export climate index picks up to 8-month high in February
THE EXPORT climate for Turkish manufacturers rebounded further in February, reaching its highest level in the last eight months according to a survey published on Friday.
The Manufacturing Sector Export Climate Index, which measures the activity conditions in the main export markets of the country’s manufacturing sector rose to 51.1 points in February, up from 50.6 in January, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) said.
All figures measured above the threshold value of 50.0 in the index indicate an improvement in the export climate, while values below 50.0 indicate deterioration.
The index results indicated a second consecutive month of improvement in demand conditions in export markets. Although the strengthening in the export climate was moderate, it was the most significant since June of last year.
The February data indicated a strong increase in economic activity in the United States, Türkiye’s second-largest export market.
Expansion accelerated in many important export markets in Europe, and signs of recovery continued after a weak period. Production growth in the United Kingdom, Italy
and Spain gained momentum in February.
On the other hand, the largest export market for the Turkish manufacturing industry, Germany continued its trend of contraction in February, while France also experienced similar conditions in production last month.
The ongoing weakness in these two economies, which account for about 13% of Turkish manufacturing industry exports, limits the overall improvement in the export climate, the survey said.
Manufacturing production in Romania, which accounts for approximately 3% of the export market and was added to the dataset, showed a sharp decline in February, as it did in the previous month.
Among the countries monitored in the survey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the fastest growth in economic activity.
Looking at other Middle Eastern countries, production increased in Saudi Arabia and Qatar while contraction was observed in Egypt and Lebanon. In Russia, production continued to grow in February, albeit at the slowest pace in the last 13 months. Other BRICS economies also remained in the expansion zone in the middle of the first quarter.
Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement that the recent recovery in the foreign demand conditions of Turkish manufacturers gained momentum in February and that signs of recovery began to be seen more clearly in many European markets, in addition the the U.S. market.
“The continuing strength of demand in the Middle East means that opportunities are expanding for manufacturers. The main exceptions to this positive trend in February were Germany and France, where challenging production conditions persisted,” noted Harker.