Istanbul retail prices jump 3.79 percent in March

ISTANBUL

Retail prices in Istanbul surged by 3.79 percent in March 2025, while wholesale prices rose 2.3 percent, according to the latest data released by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) on April 1.

The İTO Consumer Price Index showed a year-on-year increase of 46.23 percent compared to March 2024.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco spiked by 7.31 percent, telecommunications climbed 4.5 percent, food and non-alcoholic drinks rose 4.22 percent, housing increased 3.59 percent, and transportation went up 3.15 percent. Smaller gains were seen in miscellaneous goods and services (3.11 percent), household goods (1.27 percent), entertainment and culture (0.32 percent), clothing and footwear (0.09 percent), health (0.03 percent), and education (0.03 percent). Meanwhile, restaurant and hotel prices dipped slightly by 0.06 percent.

The Wholesale Price Index, which edged up 2.33 percent in February, grew by a slightly lower 2.3 percent in March. Compared to March 2024, wholesale prices jumped 33.17 percent, with an annual average rise of 46.12 percent. Month-on-month, chemicals led with a 4.83 percent increase, followed by food products at 3.64 percent, construction materials at 1.64 percent, minerals at 1.59 percent, and fuel and energy at 1.39 percent. Unprocessed materials saw a 0.67 percent drop, while textiles remained unchanged.

Over the past year, construction materials topped wholesale increases at 92.81 percent, followed by textiles (71.96 percent), chemicals (47.09 percent), food products (43.7 percent), fuel and energy (36.08 percent), unprocessed materials (34.44 percent) and minerals (30.02 percent).