COST OF LIVING

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 194, 12 May 1924, Page 6

COST OF LIVING

FOOD GROUP’S INDEX NUMBER ELEVEN POINTS’ INCREASE Reporting upon retail prices, the Government Statistician, m the Monthly Abstract of Statistics, states: “Tho index number for the three food groups combined as at March Io is 1601, an increase of eleven points as compared with that for the previous month (1590) and an increase of 49.63 rer cent, as compared with the figure for July, 1914. Prices in the groceries groups, have remained practically stationary, the index number for March (1787) being one point less than that for February. Ihe rise of 46 points in the dairy-products group has been caused by a rise in the price of milk in some of the larger towns and a considerable increase in the price of eggs in most towns. Veiy little movement has been recorded in prices in the meat group; the rise of two points being due to. increases in one or two minor items.” The latest available figures for the principal countries publishing statistics for retail prices of food are as shown in the following table:—

Comnarsion Inc. per betw’n July 1914, and cent. South Africa . Jan., 1924 20 Holland (Amster.). • Nov., 1923 42 Canada • Feb., 1924 46 United States .... . Jan., 1924 46 New Zealand . Mar., 1924 50 India (Bombay) .. • Feb., 1924 51 Australia . Mar., 1924 Sweden . Feb., 1924 62 United Kingdom .. . Mar., 1924 76 Denmark . Jan. 1924 94 Norway . Feb., 1924 134 Trance (Paris) .... . Jan., 1924 276 Italy (Milan) . Jan., 1924 416 Finland ’ , Dec., 1923 983