RETAIL PRICES

North Otago Times, Volume CVII, Issue 17748, 11 March 1927, Page 4

RETAIL PRICES

DOfflNION FLUCTUATIONS, A TENDENCY TCj^.DECREASE. Average retail prices throughouf the Dominion are compiled and coxnpared in the latest figures is* sued by the Department of Census and Statistics. Xher& xhow a general tendency to decrease, although in certain cases the index numbersj have moved upwards. j On a basis of an average price,-1909-13-1000. the retail price index! for the three food groups on Janu- - ary 15 was 1580. I A decrease of 24 points in the index number for the groceries groupj is due mainly to reductions in the price of potatoes, and, to a lesser. extent, of flour and breadi Though! sugar is still showing a rising tendency, its Influence was more tha» counteracted by these general and' marked reductions. Milk and eggs are fluctuating iii . price with a tendency tp decrease,but the general rise in the price ofi butter has caused the index number for the dairy-produee. group to move upwards 14 points. A decrease of 11 points in the in- ' dex number for the xneat-group ha»i been caused by slight reductions iffi^ the prices of beef and mutton. , As compared with January, 1926^ all index numbers show decx'easesi Groceries a 20-point decrease, main^ ly owing to the earlier reductions; this year in the price of potatoes; dairy produce, a 39-point decrease j butter, though now rising in price,; is yet considerably lower than it! was in January, 1926. The meatgroup shows a decrease of 146points; meat prices were just beginning to fall in the eaxdy part o£ last year, and are still so doing.The index number for the combined food groups was this month 72 points less than that for the corresponding month last year. Expenditure on food constituteS somewhat less than two-fifths of the • expenditure of the average household. It is necessax-y, therefore, th take into account other groups of household ekpenditure xn estimating price-movements. Statistics regarding retail prices of clothing and drapery, footweax', furnishings, household ironmongery, and other, miscellaneous items of family expenditure have therelore been coL lected as at November 15. and, combined with the index for food and fuel and light for January, "together with the rent index for _August, in their proper proportions,the resultant "all groups" price index showing a level of 63.1 per cent. over that for July, 1914. 16 now takes 32/34, on the average, to purchase what 20/- would purchase in that month.