TO-DAY'S PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 November 1920, Page 6

TO-DAY'S PRICES.

NEW POTATOES CHEAPER. AMERICAN GOODS DEARER. With the frequent changes in prices of everyday articles which the householder has to buy, the following brief ■summary of the market conditions reported in New Plymouth yesterday will interest every woman wiio shops for the home: Onions.—The Tofua, arriving -d, Wellington from San Francisco, will bring welcome stocks of onions and prunes, both of which are practically unobtainable. Prices are much more reasonable than expected. Potatoes.—The Corinna, due on Wednesday, will bring probably the last big shipment of old potatoes for the season' but the low price will probably induce many people to continue with" the old as long as possible. New potatoes are steadily coming down in the Waikato, and- to-day could be bought to retail at about lid per lb.

Preserving .Jars.—The cost of importing from America is prohibitive. There are a few stores holding a little stock, and buyers would be wise to secure their requirements early. ! American Goods.—The last conversion ' rate makes the dollar worth about Cs, against 4s 2d in normal times. This means, roughly, that apart from any rise in raw material or cost of manufacture, the goods, including freight, which has to be prepaid, are costing roughly r>(> per cent, nxtra. Some American manufacturers are so keen to , get business that instead of their usual cash terms they are offering to do business on drafts at 12f) days, and if necessary, will renew for a further sixty days if the conversion does not. improve. Ac- ■ carding to their cables thev hope that ' by February the value of the pound in ' America will improve from ;i dollars .14 : cents to 4 dollars, or say -20 per cent. ' Their object, therefore, is to carry the < draft on to a date when it will'mean I the buyer will get the benefit of this : increase. On present rates (lie majority i of American lines would land far too '■ high for buyers at this end. On lines such as benzine and kerosene, where there is no other source of supply, the purchaser must pay, and motorists should watch the fluctuations accordim-- ' lv. ° I