Israeli bracing for a new round of price hikes before the end of the year, learned today that the consumer price index rose by 20.6 percent during the first nine months and, at the present rat, will rise by more than 30 percent by year’s end.
Figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics showed price index increases of 3.9 and 3.8 percent in the last two months, respectively. In September, the biggest increases were in the prices of fruits and vegetables which contributed 40 percent of the total inflationary spiral because of increased demand over the High Holidays. Education expenses rose with the beginning of the school year. University tuition is expected to go up next month and warm clothing will cost more this month as people prepare for winter.
The Treasury has announced a reduction of subsidies for basic consumer products which is expected to push the price index up further. It is not clear whether gasoline and its by-products will be affected. The only hopeful sign has been the failure of an expected rise in construction costs to materialize. They actually declined by 0.8 percent in September when summer hours for construction workers were abolished.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
