The consumer price index rose by 5.5 percent in February, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. The figure was seized upon by supporters of Finance Minister Yoram Aridor’s economic program as evidence of progress in the war on inflation and by critics to stress the opposite view.
Government officials noted that the February price rises were lower than those in preceding months and claimed that they represented a turning point in the anti-inflation campaign, especially as not all of Ari-dor’s measures were in effect last month.
But Histadrut Secretary General Yeruham Meshel said the figures showed that Aridor’s “wonder cures are not working.” He noted that Aridor’s “wonder cures are not working.” He noted that the February, 1981 price index was the highest for the month in the last two years. In February, 1980, the price index rise was just below five percent and in February, 1979 it was under 2.5 percent.
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