November 21, 1983

Lech Walesa, the founder of the outlawed Solidarity Union, called tonight for a "struggle" against the Government's plan to increase the price of food. Mr. Walesa's declaration came after he met secretly with underground union activists. "Working people cannot agree to price increases," Mr. Walesa said in a statement reaching Western journalists. "The union's obligation is to organize a struggle in defense of their interests."

The Christmas shopping season, which traditionally starts the Friday after Thanksgiving, carries this year the brightest prospects of any holiday season in a long time, according to retailers, analysts and economists. They predict that sales gains in the 30-day season - which has one more shopping day than last year - will range from 8 to 25 percent, with 12 percent the most frequently mentioned number. The improved national economy, particularly lower unemployment and inflation as well as greater consumer confidence, are the bases for the strong predictions. With apparel inflation running at just over 3 percent, the potential real sales gains have especially built retailer ebullience because of the holiday season's disproportionate contribution to the year's results. The Christmas season normally accounts for as much as 35 percent of the year's sales and as much as 50 percent of the year's profits.

A large, unexpected surplus of crude oil and refined petroleum products has come onto the market during the past month. Barring an unusually cold winter, the excess supplies should mean lower prices for heating oil and gasoline. The oil surplus, coming seven months after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its crude prices to stimulate demand, has also led to mounting conjecture that OPEC may lower its prices again in December. On Friday, in one of several indications of the excess of supplies worldwide, the Soviet Union said it was cutting the price of crude oil it exports by 50 cents a barrel, to $29. On the same day the Sun Company, a large United States producer, said it was lowering its wholesale price of heating oil by a cent a gallon, to 82.5 cents. Analysts said they expected other oil companies to reduce wholesale prices this week.

''All of us are very angry. It is unfair to do this in Tripoli.

The 1984 model year is being seen as the year of the turbocharger for the American automobile industry. The Big Three auto makers, betting that buyers will pay more to have extra power available on demand, are projecting combined sales of nearly 300,000 turbocharged cars for the model year, compared to just 15,700 in the 1983 model year. To attain that goal, Detroit will have to overcome resistance to turbocharging that developed during the late 1970's, when the few domestic turbo models on the market proved to be unreliable and difficult. And there will be price resistance to consider - turbochargers increase power without greatly reducing fuel economy, but they are a complicated, and expensive, accessory.