The FINANCIAL -- Industrial production is showing signs that it has left the crisis of 2009 behind, as figures from the first month of the year show a positive seasonally adjusted 14.3 percent gain over the same month last year, according to Today's Zaman.

According to data released by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) on Monday, the industrial production index, a short-term indicator calculated to measure the well-being of the economy from a production standpoint, rose 14.3 percent to reach 110.4 in January over the same month last year when seasonally adjusted. The index rose by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month.

Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün in a written statement commenting on the index stated that “Turkey has been on a growth trajectory since the second half of 2009 due to the steps that the government has taken and is exiting the crisis much faster than most other nations.” He added that the improvement in the industry is a vital step in bettering the unemployment situation, which is currently at 14 percent.

The subgroup seeing the greatest increase was the manufacturing sector index, rising by 16.4 percent in January compared to last year after seasonal adjustment. The utility sector index also saw gains of 3.2 percent in the same period, while the mining sector index took a step backwards, shrinking by 0.1 percent when seasonally adjusted. On an unadjusted basis, the index painted a different picture and one that may in the minds of some cast doubt on the strength of the growth. According to the release, the index rose by 12.1 percent, rather than the adjusted 14.3 percent, when unadjusted for seasonal variations. Moreover, the minor 0.3 percent rise in the index over December turns into a massive 15.3 percent drop when not taking into account seasonal effects such as natural factors like weather conditions or social, cultural or religious traditions falling in specific seasons.

The sub-industries seeing the biggest unadjusted gains were the metallurgy industry with a 87.8 percent gain in January over the same month the previous year. Industries involved in durable consumer goods also grew by a strong 31.9 percent, while the energy sector as a whole decreased production by 0.1 percent. Within the manufacturing industry, the sub-industry seeing the greatest gains was the manufacturing of radio, TV and communication apparatus, increasing by 72.9 percent in January over the same month last year, after experiencing negative growth rates for more than a year. The greatest decreases occurred in the manufacturing of office, computing and accounting equipment.

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