RETAIL PRICES DROP

Southland Times, Issue 23978, 20 November 1939, Page 6

RETAIL PRICES DROP

FALL OF ONE POINT IN INDEX FIGURES FOR THREE FOOD GROUPS The retail prices index (1926-30 equals 1000) for the three food groups —groceries, meat and dairy produce—for September 1939, fell one point from 1060 to 1059, compared with the previous month, states the Monthly Abstract of Statistics. Increases of nine points and 19 points respectively in the groceries and meat groups were more than counterbalanced by a fall of 36 points in the dairy produce group, due to lower prices for eggs, and in some towns, for milk. When the September indexes for the three food groups and for fuel and light are combined with the August indexes for the remaining groups an all-groups index of 995 is obtained, which coincides with that for the previous month and is 58.4 per cent, above the 1914 level. The wholesale prices index fell seven points, from 1084 to 1077, during the month. Egg prices were mainly »e--sponsible for the decrease of 22 points in the index for locally-produced commodities, while various minor price movements in imported commodities raised the index for that group four points. The export prices index (1909-13 equals 1000) showed very little movement, although there were considerable fluctuations in the indexes for the various component groups, the principal being:—lncreases: Hides, skins, and so on, 51 points; agricultural produce, 54 points; timber, 95 points; minerals, 227 points; decreases: meat, 11 points; wool, 72 points. The share prices index (1926 equals 1000) at the end of September was 843, which is 12 points below that for the previous month.