Slight decline in confidence in the Turkish economy in February

Data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Monday that the economic confidence index fell by 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in February to 99.1 points, after violent earthquakes devastated the southern region of the country.

The index, which indicates an optimistic outlook when its reading exceeds the 100 level and pessimistic when it falls below that, recorded a record low in 2020 before rebounding after the easing of coronavirus measures.

The government has taken a series of measures to limit the repercussions of the earthquake, which is expected to cost at least $50 billion. But economists expected the earthquake to reduce economic growth in Turkey this year by about one or two percentage points.