percent during fourth quarter 1997, down two tenths of a percentage point from the 2.1 percent measured during the previous quarter. The inflation rate for 1997 was measured at 2.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the quarterly retail sales index rose 8.4 percent year-over-year in the final quarter of 1997 with an estimated gross turnover of $151.6 million.

Only the liquor sector's sales slipped (by 1.1 percent) below the level reached in the fourth quarter of 1996. The seasonal Christmas-related surge was particularly strong for the "all other store types'' sector whose quarterly receipts increased 11.8 percent year-over-year.

BUSINESS BUC