Captain BENNasked the President of the Board of Trade what. are the index figures of the wholesale and retail prices at the present time, as compared with 1913.
§ Lieut.-Colonel BUCKLEY:The Board of Trade index number of wholesale prices for February, 1923, is 157.6 and that for March 157.1, as compared with an average of 100 for the year 1913. The Ministry of Labour index number of the cost of living, which is based on retail prices, is 177 for 1st February, showing an increase of 77 per cent. on the figure for July, 1914 (the earliest date for which comparative figures are available). The corresponding figure for 1st March is not yet available.