Show living 10 a cost remains up many factors count in principal causes NEW YORK what is holding the cost of living up when the price of basic raw materials has fallen so far since last fall commodity prices at wholesale have retreated since then about halfway half way back to their OPA levels on the average but the cost of living has dropped back only about one eight of the way however the average weekly wage in factories Is about 0 one ne twelfth of the way back the recession so far adds up to this producers are getting consider ably less for many raw materials but not all it costs almost as much p to live as it did last year and the ther workers average pay has been only slightly touched roughly Bough ly the same factors that retarded the cost of livings pace u upward in the months when wholesale u commodities were so soaring aring am are now acting as a drag drug as it slips bugh slightly aly lower between june IM and january 1948 1918 wholesale commodities went up up at a dizzy pace the cost of living J climbed steadily but more slowly between ja january nuary and september of last year commodities as a whole were on the downgrade but the cost of living still edged upward since then the cost of living has receded but much more slowly than prices have fallen rent controls and price absorption by processors and retailers acted as a drag dras on an the cost of living on the upgrade braking the decline of the cost of living now are rents as high and apparently patently ly going higher the normal time lag between retail and wholesale price changes continued high labor costs continued high taxes and of course substantial profits on je june 15 13 1946 the index in which 1926 prices a are re stood at by january 15 1948 it had rea reached ch ed gi gl 61 if it was wax back to by september 15 1948 ina |