RETAIL PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 May 1922, Page 6

RETAIL PRICES.

STEADILY FALLING. FIGURES DOWN NEARLY TO 19IS LEVEL. BUT 41 PER CENT. ABOVE 1914. In the official Abstract of Statistics justpublished the index number, in connection with retail prices, for the three food groups (Dominion weighted average) as at March 15 is 1511, a decrease of 38 points as compared with the preceding month’s figures (1549), and an increase of 41.21 per cent, as compared with that for July, 1914. The fall of 60 points in the groceries group is due mainly to an all-round fall in the prices of bread and flour. In the dairy produce group the index number has fallen 38 points—due mainly to a decrease in the price of milk in some towns, and of bacon in most towns. The fall of 10 points in the meat group is accounted for by a fall in the prices of beef and mutton joints in several towns. The latest available figures for the principal countries publishing statistics of retail prices of food are as shown in the following table:

The diagram wh”"-h accompanied the figures shows the course of the gradual rise in retail prices from July, 1914, to December, 1920, and the subsequent fall to March, 1922. According to the diagram, in December, 1920, prices reached the peak (79). and have been gradually dropping since that date until they are now at practically 'the same level as they were in August, 1918.

11 ■ s go <D Country. a 3 s Q a South Africa Dec., 1921 25 Mar., 1922 41 New Zealand Mar., 1922 41 Canada . Jan.. 1922 49 United States Dec., 1921 47 Holland (Amsterdam) . Jan., 1922 52 India (Bombay) . Feb., 1922 60 United Kingdom Mar., 1922 77 . Jan., 1922 90 . Jan., 1922 97 Norway Dec., 1921 168 France (Paris) . Jan., 1922 219 Dec., 1921 338 Italy (Rome) , Jan., 1922 369 |,' | ft nd Nov., 1921 1186 Germany . Jan., 1922 2119