XN000022-1983-08-22 — Page 4

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MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 1983

FOR THE FORTHCOMING QUARTER, THEY WERE ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER THE SITUATION WOULD IMPROVE', 'REMAIN THE SAME OR

'DETERIORATE'.

THE BALANCE OF OPINIONS OF RESPONDENTS WERE TABULATED AND ANALYSED.

THE SURVEY REPORT ALSO CONTAINS A SECTION ON BUSINESS PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED AND EXPECTED BY FIRMS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SECTORS AND A BREAKDOWN OF VIEWS OF FIRMS BY SIZE GROUPS.

THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT FOR A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE, THE RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CARE AS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH PRECISELY THE EXTENT TO WHICH RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE ACCORDS WITH THE UNDERLYING TRENDS.

COPIES OF THE REPORT, CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS AND STATISTICAL TABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND TO OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY OBTAIN COPIES FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, AT $3 PER COPY.

FURTHER DETAILS ON THE QUARTERLY BUSINESS SURVEY MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE NATIONAL INCOME BRANCH OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT AT 5-423401.

CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR JULY PUBLISHED

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THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) AND CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) FOR JULY 1983 WERE BOTH 142, ACCORDING TO FIGURES PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DÉPARTMENT TODAY.

COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING MONTH, CPI(A) REMAINED UNCHANGED AND CPI(B) INCREASED BY ONE POINT OR 0.7 PER CENT.

WHEN COMPARED WITH JULY 1982, BOTH CPI(A) AND CPI(B) ROSE BY 11 POINTS OR 8.4 PER CENT.

DURING THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED IN JULY 1983, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED CPI(A) WAS VIRTUALLY STATIONARY WHILE THE SEASONALLY ADUSTED CPI(B) INCREASED AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF 0.2 PER CENT EACH MONTH.

DURING JULY, PRIVATE DWELLING RENTALS AND ADMISSION CHARGES FOR CINEMAS ROSE. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE PRICES OF FRESH VEGETABLES DECREASED AS A RESULT OF ABUNDANT SUPPLY.

THE CPI(A)