Consumer inflation slowed in September, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Paris-based group said Wednesday that consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 1.5% in the year to September, down from 1.7% in the year to August. “This slowdown in the annual rate of inflation was mainly driven by lower food and energy prices,” it notes.
The OECD says that energy prices were flat in the year to September, compared with an increase of 1.7% in August. And, food price inflation decreased slightly to 1.9% in the year to September, compared with 2.1% in August. Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate was stable at 1.6% in September, it adds.
The overall inflation slowdown was driven by slower increases in the United States, Germany and Italy. The rate remained stable in Canada at 1.1%, the OECD says, and it was also stable in France and the United States. Overall, Euro area annual inflation slowed to 1.1% in September, compared with 1.3% in August, it reports. Annual inflation increased slightly in Japan (to 1.1%, up from 0.9%).
Elsewhere in the world, annual inflation rates also slowed in Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Brazil; and, it was stable in India. Inflation did rise in China however (to 3.1%, up from 2.6%).
On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.2% in September. In Canada, rates were in line with the overall average, whereas prices grew faster in the UK and Japan. But, prices rose by just 0.1% in the U.S., and they fell in Italy and France.