TO-DAY'S PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 July 1920, Page 6

TO-DAY'S PRICES.

NEWS FOR THE HOUSEWIFE. TARANAKI MARKETS. With the frequent changes in prices of everyday articles which the housewife has to buy, the following brief summary of .the market conditions reported in New Plymouth yesterday will interest every woman who'shops for the home:?— Matches,—There is a marked shortage of matches at the present tiijie, and unless masters improve it looks as if we will have to resort to the old flint method of obtaining lighting for our kitchen stoves. , Tea.—The general impression appears to be that tea will be much reduced in price from now on, hut merchants report | that the tendency is for the tea market to harden somewhat after the last fall in prices, and the present prices will be those ruling for some time to come. (A cable from Colombo records hardening of the market.) Sugar.—The rise in sugar has materially affected jam-making, and with the extra price ruling for tin and glass jars this commodity is becoming a luxury. Vinegar is also on the rise in sympathy with the advance in sugar, which also reflects on pieties and sauces. Biscuits have now advanced, especially the fancy kinds, which may also be put down to the advance of sugar, Rice.—Rice is now a more reasonable price, ae are also sago and tapioca, caused through the difference in exchange in the East. i Fruit—Preserved fruita are fairly J high in price at present, and with the rate of exchange from America taken into account there will be no material difference in the new pack in California. Soap.—With the tallow market somewhat easier the price of household soags have dropped somewhat of late, but the price of toilet soaps remains unaltered.