Consumer price inflation appears to be slowing, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Inflation in the OECD area dropped to 1.6% in the year to March 2013, compared with 1.8% in February, the OECD reports. “This slowdown in the annual rate of inflation mainly reflects slower growth in food and especially in energy prices,” it says. Indeed, energy inflation slowed sharply to 0.9% in March, down from 3.4% in February. Excluding food and energy, the OECD annual inflation rate was stable at 1.6%.
Annual inflation slowed notably in the U.S. in March, dropping to 1.5% from 2.0% in the previous month. For Canada, the annual rate was trimmed to 1.0%, down from 1.2%. Inflation also slowed in Italy, and Germany, but was stable in France and the UK. For the Euro area overall, annual inflation dipped to 1.7% in March, down from 1.9%.
In Japan, the OECD notes that deflation continued for the ninth consecutive month in March, with consumer prices falling at a 0.9% annual rate.
Outside the OECD area, annual inflation decreased in China and Russia, but accelerated in other major economies, such as Indonesia, Brazil and South Africa.
On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.3% in March.