The dollar has fallen.
It was like a relief from the most severe mental distress for some and a sigh and trepidation for others over the silvery Sunday.
The dollar has fallen: some are now hoping for cheap gingerbread and others fear losses from goods that were bought too expensively.
What will happen?
One will have to guard against hope as well as despondency.
It is gratifying that the foreign policy clouds have lifted for a moment, that confidence in the German economy has increased.
How long it will take?
When will Poincaré make another of his famous bear market speeches?
The improvement in the mark will only be able to be recorded if an acceptable, even if only temporary, solution is quickly found in the reparations complex, if the measures are then quickly implemented which have now been discussed long enough by experts for the time of stabilization .
But even without this, without any certainty that the market value will be finally fixed, the public will now be able to demand that prices also prove their downward elasticity.
In doing so, those commodity prices will have to come first that are most dependent on the foreign valuation of the mark, i.e. especially finished imported goods such as coffee, legumes, then those goods that consist mainly of foreign raw materials such as textiles, copper alloys, etc Price developments have to pay particular attention to the price management of the producers and their associations, the cartels and syndicates.
Not all commodities followed the dollar exchange rate evenly;
some rushed ahead like steel and textiles, some lagged far behind, already showing the effects of reduced demand, like beer.
Even if the market rate continues to be more favorable, a completely uniform development in commodity prices cannot be expected.
In principle, it must be demanded that the economy, which, despite legal paragraphs, has largely taken the replacement price into account in the calculation in recent times, now remains true to this principle and also lowers the final price of the goods with reduced replacement costs.
The trade section of the evening newspaper reported on the reduction in wholesale prices for margarine, flour and legumes.
The reduction will not be limited to these goods.
As the official Prussian press service reports, when combating inappropriate price fixing, particular importance should be attached to the participation of the so-called medium-sized price control bodies, whose sphere of activity extends over the entire area of a province or administrative district.
In particular, these offices will have to operate in such a way that they take on tasks that go beyond the scope of the local price inspection offices in their district, provide the local offices with technical guidelines for the purpose of managing and summarizing their activities, appropriate contact with economic life for the purpose of correct hold pricing.
It seemed expedient to give them the character of official organs.
In particular, these official bodies will be responsible for convening and leading the negotiations on price reviews and price fixing and making the final decision on the points discussed in these negotiations, as well as providing expert opinions for the authorities, in particular for the usury offices and the public prosecutor's offices take over.
An advisory, non-official body is to be attached to this official body.
This will have to consist of representatives from the various economic sectors, namely agriculture, industry, trade and consumers.
The election of the committees takes place expediently, not by appointment by the official bodies, but by delegation on the part of the economic organizations.
The consumer committees are to be given the opportunity to participate to a large extent in the deliberations of all specialist committees and the joint deliberations on price checks and price determinations, as well as in combating price gouging.