Retail prices in Istanbul rise 3.9 percent in March

ISTANBUL

The monthly increase in retail prices in Istanbul slowed from 4.07 percent in February to 3.93 percent in March, according to data from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO).

On the back of the March reading, the annual inflation in Türkiye’s megacity accelerated from 76.58 percent to 74.22 percent.

Prices rose by 15.42 percent compared with the end of 2023.

Clothing prices advanced 8.96 percent month-on-month, while the increase in housing was 3.9 percent, which brought the annual rise for this item to 61.7 percent.

Food prices increased by 3.62 percent last month from February, İTO said, adding that health and personal care prices were up 3.05 percent.

Transportation and communication costs in the city of 16 million inhabitants increased by 1.06 percent, while culture, education and entertainment prices inched up 0.2 percent.

The pace of monthly growth in wholesale prices eased from 4.64 percent in February to 3.78 percent.

The annual increase in wholesale prices slowed from 65.06 percent to 63.21 percent.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) will unveil the nationwide inflation data for March on April 3.

Markets forecast a monthly inflation rate of 3.5 percent for March.

The Central Bank lifted its main policy rate by 500 basis points to 50 percent last month, when inflation came in at the higher-than-expected 4.53 percent in February, pushing the annual inflation rate to 67.07 percent from 64.86 percent in January.

“Fighting inflation is our main priority, both economically and socially... As of the second half of this year, we will begin to see the results of our fight against inflation,” Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz wrote on social media platform X on April 1.