Turkey’s industrial production increased for the second straight month in March at a faster-than-expected pace, figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed Friday.

Industrial production climbed a calender-adjusted 4.7 percent year-over-year in March, much faster than February’s 0.9 percent increase. Economists had expected the growth to remain stable at 0.9 percent.

The latest rate of growth was the highest since August last year, when production also grew the same 4.7 percent.

Production in the manufacturing sector expanded 5.0 percent annually in March and mining and quarrying output grew by 3.8 percent. Utility sector also logged a growth of 3.0 percent.

Among main industrial groupings, production of capital goods surged 15.9 percent in March from a year ago an that for non-durable consumer goods advanced by 7.2 percent. At the same time, production of intermediate goods dropped 0.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production increased a seasonally and calender-adjusted 2.2 percent in March, exceeding economists’ expectations for a 1.4 percent hike. In February, production had risen 1.8 percent. It was also the second consecutive monthly climb.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com