Inflation eased a bit in October, according to the latest readings from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The OECD said Tuesday that the annual inflation rate in the OECD area dipped slightly to 3.2% in October, from 3.3% in the year to September.
“This easing in the annual rate of inflation mainly reflected slower growth in energy prices, which increased by 12.4% in the year to October down from 14.2% in the year to September,” it explained. Additionally, food prices rose by 4.1% in the year to October, down from 4.2% in September.
Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate rose by 2.0% in October, compared with 1.9% in September.
In most of the G7 countries, inflation decelerated in the year to October. In the U.S., it dropped to 3.5% from 3.9%. For Canada, it was down to 2.9% from 3.2%. The UK saw the rate ease to 5.0% from 5.2%, in Germany it dipped to 2.5% from 2.6%, and Japan’s annual rate dropped to -0.2% from 0.0%. However, consumer price inflation picked up in Italy (to 3.4%, up from 3.0%) and France (to 2.3%, up from 2.2%).
Also, in China, annual inflation slowed to 5.5% in the year to October, down from 6.1 % in September. It also slowed in Brazil and Indonesia, remained stable in Russia, and picked up in South Africa.
On a month over month basis, prices in the OECD area rose by 0.2% in October. They rose most in Italy, up by 0.6%, gained 0.2% in Canada and France, and 0.1% in the UK and Japan. They were stable in Germany, and decreased by 0.2% in the United States.