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general::
noun VERB + PER CENT account for, amount to, be equal to, constitute, equal, represent Overseas earnings accounted for 9% of the total last year. | contain Roman coins containing about 25% zinc | reach, stand at Their share of the vote reached 6.5% in 1998. | (All the verbs in the following collocate groups may be followed by by, from or to plus per cent. Sometimes the word by is left out.), be/go/shoot up, expand, grow, improve, increase, jump, rise, soar Prices rose by 12% in 1998. Prices rose 12%. | be/go/come down, decline, decrease, depreciate, drop, fall, plummet, plunge, shrink Profitability is down from 16% to 12.2%. | boost sth, increase sth, raise sth hoping to boost sales by 10%. | cut sth, devalue sth, reduce sth, slash sth The currency was devalued 20% overnight. PREP. by 10, 20, etc. ~ cutting carbon dioxide levels by 20% in 15 years | ~ of sth In 40% of all cases, the parents had no idea of their child's problem. PHRASES about/around/only/over/up to 10, 20, etc. per cent ~ Only 10% of the teenagers agreed with this statement. a process that can reduce the cost by up to 15% | a boost/an improvement/an increase/a jump/a rise of 10, 20, etc. per cent a jump of 8% in cases of the disease | a cut/decline/decrease/drop/fall/reduction of 10, 20, etc. per cent, fewer/less/more than 10, 20, etc. per cent Profits rose by more than 50% last year. | growth of 10, 20, etc. per cent, in the bottom/top 10, 20, etc. per cent His son was in the top 2% of the university's students. | 10, 20, etc. per cent less/more New cars will use about 35% less fuel by the year 2001. | 10, 20, etc. per cent of all/of a total The tribe's land now amounts to around 50% of the total land area.NOTEfinancial indicators~ be down/up With the share price down at 234p, it might be time to start buying. The CAC index was up 18.84 points.~ reach sth, stand at sth Consumer confidence reached a 30-year high. Second quarter sales stood at 18 billion.~ be/remain unchanged The 100 Share Index remained unchanged at 5297.~ gain (sth) The share gained 19 cents to close at 4.38.~ suffer (sth) Profit margins suffered when the company lowered prices to remain competitive.~ climb, edge up, go up, increase ( ~ increase in value for currencies), jump, rise, rocket, shoot up, skyrocket, soar (+ by, from, to or no preposition) Earnings per share climbed from 3.5p to 5.1p. The pound has increased in value relative to the euro. Profits have shot up by a staggering 25%. Oil prices have skyrocketed.~ come/go down, crash, decline, decrease ( ~ decrease in value for currencies), dive, drop, fall, plummet, plunge, shrink, slip, slump (+ by, from, to or no preposition) Banana exports crashed nearly 50%. The pound fell to a 14-year low against the dollar. Net income plummeted to USD 3.7 million. CURRENCY