The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has announced that prices in the megacity increased by 5.46 percent in September compared to the previous month while the annual inflation was 73.18 percent.

The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) has published the retail and wholesale price indices for September for the megacity.

According to its calculations, retail prices jumped 5.46 percent month on month in September for an annual rise of 73.18 percent.

Wholesale prices in the city jumped 3.94 percent from August for an annual rise of 67.79 percent, the ITO said.

Accordingly, the biggest monthly rise in retail prices was in clothing expenditures with 14.50 percent, followed by the culture, education, and entertainment sector with 7.38 percent.

The biggest monthly rise in wholesale prices was in construction materials with 7.28 percent.

These indices are used by economists as an indicator of nationwide inflation.

The government-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reported an annual inflation rate of 58.94 percent in August, whereas the independent inflation group ENAG put the figure at 128.05 percent.

TÜİK and ENAG will release the inflation data for September on Oct. 3.