We have extracted here sectiorm of the Financial Times editorial for Jamary 224, Much of what the paper says Is incontrovertible but it would appear that the paper is stressing the danger of inflation in order to provide arguments against any more "excessive" wage settlements. The editorial began: "xetail prices have risen in every year since the war, sometimes faster, sometimes more slowly. During most of 1963, despite the steady drop in unemployment am the upswing in production, there was enough idle capaci 7 in many industries to keep prices relatively stable. ‘he few sharp increases which took place were due to special factors, and their total effect on the cost of living for the average family was small - much less noticeable, in fact, than the spread of price-cutting. It is only during the past month or two, therefore that warnings about inflation have been heard again.
"The chief upward pressure on prices during 1963 came from abroad: by October..import prices had risen by 4. RaW material prices had risen by about this amount, food prices largely but not entirely because of sugar - by twice as much, Industry experienced a corresponding increase in its costs.. the price of raw materials rose by 6% during the last quarter of the year. for the food-processing industries, the ri3e amounted to 9%; it amounted to 11% for textiles but only 4% on average for the rest. Wholesalc-prices, however, have so-far risen very little. Food prices..have risen by 3.6% on the year, but the only other sisgnificant increasehas been-in textiles...
"This relative stability of wholseale prices has been reflected at the retail stage. ‘he retail price index rose during 1963 by a little over 2%( a good deal less than the average of the past few years) And nearly half of the rise was accounted for by food....In fact food, housing, fuol and fares accounted for é of last year’s rise in prices, with most of the rest being accounted for by services. The infu_tion, such as it was, resulted partly from what was happening in the world outside and pertly from deliberate acts of official policy.
"Import prices still seem to be rising, and it is possible that much of the rise which has already taken place has yet to be passed on to the consumer. Tho cost of housing am fares, Will probably continue to riso. Industry generally, particularly if there isa sharp increase in the wage bill, will tend to pass on the higher costs as ths pressure of competition decreases...It sccms inevitable that the cost of living will rise more sharply during 1964 than it did during 1963...Even if price increases cannot be referred to some body like the National Incomes Commission for consideration, there is every reason why the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Labour should attempt to keep the public aware of what is happening."
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