The cost of living index rose by 6.1 percent in July the Central Bureau of Statistics announced today. Bureau spokesman David Neuman pointed out this figure was twice as high as during the past two months but equalled the monthly average for the past seven months. If the index continues to rise at this month’s rate, the annual inflation figure for 1981 will be about 100 percent, he said.
This is less than last year’s 134 percent figure but higher than the 70-80 percent forecast by Finance Minister Yoram Aridor. Histadrut Secretary General Yerucham Meshel noted that this July’s figure was the highest ever for a July since the establishment of Israel.
Opposition spokesmen said the monthly rise had been kept artificially low during the election period, but Bureau of Statistics economists say the government has already, in the past four months, spent three-quarters of its annual budget for this year’s subsidies.
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