The compilers of statistics have during the past two years been showing us a gradual fall in wholesale prices. The figures for the United Kingdom, America, and half a dozen of the principal countries: of the world all show a steady decline, but when we come to Shanghai we can see nothing of the sort. The statistics relating to wholesale: prices of commodities for Shanghai go back only to September, 1919, so we are denied the more extensive comparisons which other index numbers afford us, but we have the fect before us that the prices for the month of June just ended Were the highest since these loca] figures have been compiled. Cereals are responsible for a goodly part of this increase over other months, but this is largely seasonal and seems invariably to occur in the. month of June. The other princi-pel increase is in textiles, and we fancy that this will gladden the merchant's heart to read of. Taking the price of textiles in September, 1919. as 100, we find that they reached their highest point in' June, 1920, from which month a steady decline set in. This continued until the beginning of the present year, when they again took an upward. tendency and have now reached the figure of 103. This is, as we have said, all very well for those engaged in the textile trade, but it is small consolation to the rest of us. to know that things on the whole are dearer now than at any time during almost two years, especially as in every place else they seem to be on the down grade.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.