Retail sales in Turkey slid 9.2 percent in December from 12 months previously in a further sign that a sharp downturn in the economy is persisting.
Sales volume, excluding food, drinks, tobacco and fuel, dropped an annual 12.6 percent, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on its website on Friday.
Turkish consumers are paring back spending after a currency crisis last year wiped 28 percent off the value of the lira and annual inflation surged to more than 20 percent.
Retail sales fell 0.6 percent month-on-month in December. Sales of food and drinks led the decline, dropping 1 percent from November, the institute said.
Turkish consumer confidence is continuing to slide as inflation and rising unemployment curbs spending power. It fell to 58.2 in January from 58.7 the previous month, a government survey published on Jan. 23 showed. Any reading below 100 indicates pessimism about the future.
Source: Ahval News
