Wholesale Prices of Commodities Average Higher

1916

Wholesale prices of commodities in the United States averaged considerably higher in 1915 than in the preceding year, according to bulletin 200 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U. S. Department of Labor. The downward trend which set in toward the close of 1914 did not extend beyond that year and by the end of January, 1915, prices of many commodities had advanced to a point well above those of the year before. February prices in the aggregate were above those in January, but slight decreases occurred in March and April. In May prices again advanced and, except for small declines in June and September, continued at high levels throughout the remainder of the year. The bureau's weighted index number for December stood at 105, the highest point reached in any year since the collection of data for the present series of reports on wholesale prices, dating back to 1890, was begun.