BREAK IN U.S. PRICES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 107, 16 February 1948, Page 3

BREAK IN U.S. PRICES

Housewives Reap Benefit NEW YORK, Fob. Iff. Wall Street shares were irregular and only moderately active to-day. Commodities were mostly lower with cotton continuing weak. Since the market break on February 4 there has been a 17 per cent drop in wholesale prices of wheat, barley, corn, cotton, pigs and cattle, and already housewives are able to buy some groceries and meats a few cents cheaper. Items like furniture, fuel, gas, electricity and rents, have stayed up and so far price plunges have been confined to the more sensitive parts of the national economy, such as commodities and stocks.

Two chain grocery stores have cut butter from 97 to 85 cents per lb this The Secretary of the Treasury (Miff ohn Snyder) declared: “I &ee no reason to believe that the price breaks are leading up to a depression. 1 am confident of that.” The London market was more orderly to-day than on any day since the recent decline. Corn held about even, but oats advanced half a cent. On the stock market a few stocks gained a point or more, hut the main list, held irregular with trading very slow. Cotton recovered 890 cents a hale after falling 1250 cents for the week.