§ Mr. Tim Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is his latest estimate of the annual increase in the retail price index extrapolating the figures for the past three months.
§ Mr. MaclennanThe annual increase in the retail price index to February 1979, the latest month for which information is available, was 9.6 per cent. During the three months to February the RPI—January 1974=100—rose from 202.5 to 208.9 which, expressed as an annual rate—for what it is worth—is an 587W increase of 13.3 per cent. Extrapolation of changes over such a short period is, however, a totally unreliable method of forecasting.