Turkey’s factory production rebounded in June from May. On a calendar-adjusted basis, manufacturing output increased by 1% year-on-year in June, compared to a 20.6% year-on-year fall in May. June factory output was 19% higher than in May. Industrial activity in Turkey had already started to recover in May as the government eased COVID-19 restrictions. Some industrial facilities also reached capacity in late May after the Eid holiday.
The increase was also helped by a low base last year when output declined sharply due to Turkey’s currency crisis, which only began to year-on-year increases from September last year. Factory production fell again by 19% in March due to the pandemic.
Output by some gas-intensive manufacturing sectors recorded a year-on-year gain, with the manufacture of non-metal minerals significantly increasing by 13.7% and chemicals and chemical products by 2.6%. However, demand in other sectors was still lower than a year earlier, with coke and refined petroleum product output falling by 12.3%, while the production of basic metals decreased and 1.2%.
The wider industrial output index increased slightly by 0.1% year-on-year in June. On a monthly basis, the increase was more pronounced at 17.6%. Iron ore mining increased 4.4% year-on-year, after dropping 24.3% in May. Mining of coal and lignite fell by 28.8%, extending a 34.5% drop in May.
Despite higher industrial consumption, Turkey’s total gas demand dropped to 74 Mcmd in June from 83 Mcmd in the same month last year. This was despite higher gas intake from the power sector which burned 16.6 Mcmd of gas in June, compared to 13 Mcmd burned a year earlier, energy ministry data showed.
