Smallest C.P.I. rise in a year

Press, 11 October 1985, Page 1

Smallest C.P.I. rise in a year

By OLIVER RIDDELL in Wellington The level of the consumers’ price index fell in the September quarter on the June quarter, and was the smallest quarterly rise for a year. The 2.8 per cent rise followed on successive quarterly increases of 3.2, 4.4 and 5.1 per cent for the December, 1984, and March and June, 1985, quarters respectively. Now the value of C.P.L stands at 1233, compared with the December, 1983, quarter base of 1000. There is a drop also in the level of consumer price rises. A rise of 16.3 per cent between the September quarters of 1984 and 1985 compares with an increase of 16.6 per cent between the June quarters of 1984 and 1985. This is still well up on the

13.4 per cent increase between the March quarters of 1984 and 1985. The relative contributions to the 2.8 per cent rise were: food, 15.0 per cent; housing, 30.5 per cent; household expenses, 18.0 per cent; apparel, 4.1 per cent; transport, 17.3 per cent; and miscellaneous, 15.1 per cent. Half of the increase in the food component was from milk and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Caygill, said that made the release of the Industries Development Commission report on the town milk industry all the more timely. Taking the increase in milk into account, rates of increase in the price of food had levelled off, he said. The rate of increase for the year ended September was the same as that for the year ended July and May.