Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-17
PURCHASING POWER
OF DOLLAR GAINS.
Further Decline in Wholesale
Markets Increases Cur
renCy Value.

The American dollar continues to ex-
pand in purchasing power in the whole
sale market, the Labor Department an
nounced today as wholesale prices kept
up their downward march through Oc-
tober.
A report drafted by the departments
Bureau of Statistics. places the current
purchasing power OF the dollar at ap-
proximately $1.45. a total of 81 cents
higher than the dollars retail purchas-
ing power.
The index number, which includes
$50 commodities, declined from 69.l In
September to 684 in october, a de-
crease of little more than l per cent.
When compared with october, 1880,
with an index number Of 1875, a de-
crease of II per cent has been recorded.
Equals 1914 Level.
Back Records of the bureau also re-
veal that the wholesale purchasing
power of the dollar is of the same value
as that of July, 1914. when the Ger
man army advanced into Belgium at the
beginning of the World War.
Decreases in the price of corn, cows,
hogs, cotton, peanuts, lemons, oranges,
white potatoes, tobacco, and wool" the
report said, caused farm products as a
group to average 234 per cent lower in
october than in September. On the
other hand, the prices Of oats, rye,
wheat, eggs, hay and onions were
higher than in the month before.
Among foods price decreases were re-
ported for lamb, fresh pork, bacon, ham,
dressed poultry, cured fish, corn meal,
rice and vegetable oils, resulting in
decrease of about one-half of per cent
for the group as whole. Butter, fresh
and cured beef, lard, oleomargarine, rye
and wheat flour and bananas averaged
higher than in September.
"A marked decline in the general
average price of hides and skins and
leather during October forced the hides
and leather group as whole down
slightly more than per cent. Boots
and shoes and other leather products
showed little or no change from the
month before.
In the group Of textile products cot
ton goods, wooden and worsted goods,
silk and rayon and other textile prod
ucts showed further price decreases
from September to october. The textile
group as whole declined about IA
per cent.
with gasoline and crude petroleum
advancing slightly and with minor de-
creases reported for anthracite and BIZ
luminous Goals, practically no change
was shown in the fuel and lighting
group as whole. Coke remained at
the same level as for the month before.
Lumber, cement, paint materials
and other building materials continued
their downward movement in October
No change was shown for structural
steel, with minor increase reported
for brick. The group as a whole showed
q decrease of less than / per cent.
Further price receSSions during &C.
tober for chemicals, mixed fertilizers
and fertilizer materials caused the
chemicals and drugs group to decline
about / per cent. No change was shown
for drugs and Lharmaceuticals. Both
furniture and furnishings in the group
of housefurnishi4Ig goods continued to
decline in the month.
Raw materials as a whole averaged
lower than in September, as did also
northumberland articles and fin
ished products.
In the large group Of non-agricul-
tural commodities, including all ar
ticles other than farm products, and
among all commodities other than
farm products and foods the October
prices showed a downward movement
from those for the month before.
Between September and October de-
creases took place in 104 instances, in
creases in 100 instances, while in 256
instances no change occurred"
Price Comparisons.
The following table shows price COM
parsons based on the average prices
for 1926 as 1000: