ICI Türkiye Export Climate Index for August Released
- 08.09.2021
- News
Measuring the operating conditions in the key export markets of the Turkish manufacturing sector, the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index dropped to 55.9 in August, though an improvement for the last seven consecutive months in Turkish manufacturing sector exporters. The improvement in demand conditions continued even though it was the slowest since March.
The growth in Euro Zone economies remained high in general. Rates of expansion in business activity softened in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, which account for more than one fourth of the export market for Turkish manufacturing firms, while saw the highest increase in Italy since more than 15 years. The UK posted the slowest expansion of the last six months, while the output in US saw the lowest rate since the beginning of the year. The economic activity rose in most of the Middle East. Continued effects of delta variant of Covid-19 on some parts of the Asia caused sharp drops in manufacturing.
The Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index, which measures the operation conditions in the key export markets of the Turkish manufacturing sector, announced the results of the index for August 2021. In the index, the figures above the 50.0 no-change mark signals an improvement in the export climate, while the figures below signals a deterioration.
Although the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index dropped to 55.9 in August from 57.7 in July, it signalled an improvement for the last seven consecutive months in Turkish manufacturing sector exporters. The improvement in demand conditions continued even though it was the slowest since March.
Momentum in growth in Europe
The growth in Euro Zone economies remained high in general in August. Rates of expansion in business activity softened in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, while saw the highest increase in Italy since more than 15 years. These five countries account for more than one fourth of the export market for Turkish manufacturing firms. Other important export markets showed more apparent signs of slowdown in the third quarter. The UK posted the slowest growth rate in its last six-month expansion period. In the meantime, the output in the US saw the slowest expansion since the beginning of the year, caused by the slowdown in demand and capacity problems.
Growth in most of the Middle East
The economic activity rose in most of the Middle East in August. The expansion in Qatar saw the highest rate of the last one year, while the United Arab Emirates posted the highest rise of the last two years. Non-petroleum economic activity in the Saudi Arabia continued to post strong growth though with a slight decrease. The output in Egypt remained unchanged compared to the last month, and Lebanon was the only country with shrinking economic activity. Continued effects of delta variant of Covid-19 on some parts of the Asia caused sharp drops in manufacturing in August. Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar were affected the most while China saw a shrinkage for the first time in the last 16 months. As for the other BRIC countries, Russia also saw shrinkage in its economic activity since the end of 2020. The other countries, however, posted more positive trends. The output in India saw an increase for the first time after four months and Brazil posted expansion for the third consecutive month.
Commenting on the Istanbul Chamber of Industry Türkiye Manufacturing Export Climate Index, Andrew Harker, Economics Director, IHS Markit, said:
“Continued growth in particularly the Euro zone in August continued to support the Turkish manufacturers’ exports activities. On the other hand, the growth rates dropped in some markets such as the US and the UK, signalling a slowdown in demand. Therefore, the firms hope a sustainable and strong improvement in the conditions in the rest of the year.”