§ Major Beamishasked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the percentage rise in the cost of raw materials during the last 12 months; how this compares with the rise in the cost of manufactured articles in the same period; and to what extent and by what dates he expects this rise in the cost of raw materials to be fully reflected in the cost of manufactured articles and in the cost of living index.
§ Mr. RhodesThe import price index of raw materials rose by 71 per cent. between February, 1950, and February, 1951, while the index of wholesale prices of basic industrial materials rose by 109 per cent. between March, 1950, and March, 1951. The index of manufactured articles published by the Board, which relates to finished industrial materials, rose by 13 per cent. in the latter period. The dates when higher costs of raw materials may be expected to be reflected in the Interim Index of Retail Prices published by the Ministry of Labour and National Service will differ from material to material and will not be the same for all products made from the same material, and it is not possible to say when all movements which have taken place in the last year will have been "fully reflected."