COURSE OF PRICES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 132, 2 December 1930, Page 14

COURSE OF PRICES

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

"A MAJOR FLUCTUATION"

Evening Post," 2nd December. "The downward movement in prices continues to hold the whole of the gold standard world in its sway." This is the conclusion of the "Statist," London, in. its review of the prices of commodities • for the month of September. Since then there have been further recessions in values of commodities —as New Zealand well knows. The latest fall in sterling wholesale prices has, according to the "Statist" index number, reduced to 11.8 per cent. the margin which separates the general level of wholesale prices as at the end of September from that which obtained prior 'to the outbreak of the war. It is now necessary to go back as far as November, 1914, to find an index number of wholesale prices lower than that recorded for the end of last September. The world is, no doubt, undergoing one of the major fluctuations in the purchasing power of its standard of values, a fluctuation fully comparable with the drastic decline in the price level that occurred in 1920-21 and perhaps more disturbing than that decline since the earlier movement immediately followed a boom of definitely inflationary character, while the slump which is still continuing occurred after a period in which sterling wholesale prices had been slowly sagging. Tables are "given to show th.'.t the fall in wholesale prices over the twelve months ended 30th September, 1930, has been fairly well spread over- all categories of representative commodities. During this period foodstuffs fell in price by 15.9 per cent, and materials by 21.6 per cent. The general character of • this fall in prices would eeein to indicate that "we are witnessing a genuine appreciation in our standard of value as well as the effects of a somewhat Unbalanced expansion in production."