Istanbul’s inflation nears 100 percent

An index reported by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) showed that the retail prices rose 99.11 percent year-on-year in July making it the highest level since February 1998, 

The Istanbul Wage Earners Cost of Living Index, which reflects the retail prices, rose monthly by 4.09 percent in July 2022.

According to the report, In July 2022, Istanbul residents paid 17.31 percent more for health and personal care, 7.70 percent more for houseware, 4.83 percent more for food, 4.44 percent more for culture, education and entertainment, 2.63 percent more for clothing, 2.15 percent more for housing.

Wholesale prices also increased compared to the previous month.

Unprocessed materials group prices grew 6.03 percent, food group 5.99 percent and construction group 3.97 percent.

The Erdogan administration’s highly criticized “new economy policy” attempted to increase exports by decreasing the lira's value and having a surplus but soaring trade deficit also added a currency crisis to the spiraling inflation.

Last month, Banks Association of Turkey Risk Center reported that more and more people relied on credit to save the day as unpaid consumer debt increased by 55 percent to 30.5 billion Turkish liras in the first 5 months of the year.