The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said inflation slowed in February, led by a decline in energy prices.

The Paris-based OECD reports that consumer inflation in the OECD area slowed to 1.4% in the year to February, compared with 1.7% in January.

The slowdown in the annual rate was driven by energy prices, which fell at a 0.4% annual rate in February, compared with a 2.1% increase in January.

Excluding food and energy, the OECD annual inflation rate was stable for the fourth consecutive month at 1.6% in February.

The OECD says that annual inflation decreased strongly in both the United S and Canada. The annual rate for both countries came in at 1.1% in February, down from 1.6% and 1.5% in the previous month, respectively. Inflation fell more moderately in Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany, but it picked up in France and Japan. For the euro area, annual inflation slowed to 0.7% in February, compared with 0.8% in January.

On a month-over-month basis, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.3% in February. They increased by 0.8% in Canada, but rose less dramatically in France, Germany, the UK, the U.S. Prices were stable in Japan and fell by 0.1% in Italy.