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Commodity Prices . 



Long-time trend: Steady to downward. 



Intermediate trend: Steady to downward. 



Short- time trend: Downward. 

 For the time being the recent upward trend in prices is 

 definitely halted. The recent proposals for preventing inflation have 

 been partially responsible for this sidewise trend. The progress that 

 the German army is making in Russia has been an unsettling influence. 

 For short periods of time our attention is focused upon such develop- 

 ments, possibly to the exclusion of more fundamental factors. 



Representatives from the United States and England have 

 agreed to provide Russia with supplies and equipment. The United 

 States has agreed to supply Great Britain with all sorts of material 

 assistance, including food. Our officials responsible for getting 

 this material and equipment manufactured and into the hands of friendly 

 nations are making every effort to shift industrial production from 

 consumers' goods to armaments, ships, airplanes and other seriously 

 needed war equipment. We do not have the capacity to multiply our 

 output of armament goods several fold and continue to produce the same 

 amount of consumers' goods. The result will be that the amount of 

 consumers' goods, except for farm products, must be drastically cur- 

 tailed. With the curtailment of the volume of goods that people can 

 buy, with no curtailment of their income, but possibly a considerable 

 expansion of their income, there will be more money to spend for food. 

 Unless price ceilings are placed upon foodstuffs it is probable that 

 the domestic demand for foods combined v/ith the lease-lend purchases 

 would maintain the prices of farm products at a relatively high level 

 in spite of the increases in production v/hich are being planned. 



