Dancing Ladies Outweigh Swimming Swans as Christmas Index Rises

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Rising gold prices and an increase in fees for the nine dancing ladies offset a slump in the price of swans-a-swimming this year, pushing up the cost of items in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” by 1.8 percent.
Soaring precious metals prices pushed up the cost of the five rings by 43 percent to $499.95, while dedicated lovers will have to shell out almost $714 more for the services of the female dancers this year to woo the object of their desire, according to Pittsburgh-based PNC Wealth Management.
Seven swans-a-swimming, the most expensive of the 12 items in the list, dropped 6.3 percent to $5,250, in line with a general decline in bird prices, PNC said. Partridges and geese- a-laying also slipped in the fowl-heavy shopping list.
While ladies are dancing to a richer tune this year, rising unemployment has kept the salaries of leaping lords, pipers and drummers little changed, helping ardent admirers get through the 12 days with only a small increase in amorous outlay. Internet- savvy lovers may even achieve a 1.6 percent discount, PNC said.
The following is a table listing the prices for the items, based on the annual index released by PNC.