Page 46 - TURKRptMay19

4.2.2 PPI dynamics
Official domestic producer price inflation (PPI) in March edged up after falling for five consecutive months in a row. It was recorded at 29.64% y/y, slightly higher than the 29.59% y/y seen in February, TUIK said on April 3 in a press release.
Cheap veggie, expensive PPI. Although the markets were happy as recently as March to buy the government’s line suggesting that the cheap veggie stalls set up by state officials to head off alleged price gougers (and swing a few votes) have helped to curb food inflation, the TUIK’s latest data release on agriculture producer price inflation (PPI) show a March rise in official agriculture PPI. That means the PPI figure went up for five straight months. The March gain was clocked at 27.33% y/y, compared to 25.79% y/y in February. Last November, the figure was recorded at 14.37% y/y. TUIK’s latest data on poultry and milk products, released on April 12, showed the deterioration also continued in food production.
4.3 Industrial sectors and trade 4.3.1 PMI Production dynamics
March PMI for Turkish manufacturing shows “light at the end of tunnel”.
“Light at the end of the tunnel” for Turkey’s recession-hit manufacturing sector has been identified in March’s Istanbul Chamber of Industry Turkey Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey data, consultancy IHS Markit said on April 1. The headline PMI was recorded at 47.2 in March, up from 46.4 in February and the highest since July 2018. Although 47.2 still denotes contraction (expansion is indicated by any score above 50.0) operating conditions in Turkish industry have now moderated on a monthly basis throughout the past year, and the latest slowdown was weaker than the
46 TURKEY Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com