Inflation rates remained broadly stable in December, reports the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Annual inflation for the OECD area was 1.9% in the year to December, which was unchanged from November, the Paris-based group says.
Inflation rates for all the major components of the index were also broadly stable, it notes, with energy price inflation at 2.9% and food price inflation at 2.1%. Excluding food and energy, the OECD annual inflation rate was 1.5% in the year to December.
The OECD says that annual inflation rates were stable in Canada (at 0.8%) and in Britain in December. Inflation slowed slightly in Italy, France, and the United States, it notes, while it also picked up slightly in Germany. In Japan, consumer prices fell by 0.1% in December compared with a decline of 0.2% in November.
Outside the OECD area, annual inflation increased in China, Brazil, and Russia; and, it was stable in Indonesia and South Africa, it notes.
On a month over month basis, consumer prices in the OECD area were also stable in December. Although, within the area, prices increased in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Japan, but they declined by 0.6% in Canada and by 0.3% in the U.S.