Consumer inflation eased in March, led by a sharp drop in Canada and shallower slides in the United States and Germany, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The Paris-based OECD said Thursday that consumer prices in the OECD area rose at a 2.7% annual rate in March, compared with 2.8% in February. “This easing in the annual rate of inflation mainly reflected developments in energy and food where inflation slowed to 6.5% and 3.5% in the year to March, respectively, compared with 7.9% and 3.8% in the year to February,” it says. “Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate was stable at 1.9% in March.”
Canada recorded one of the biggest drops, with annual inflation decelerating to 1.9% in March from 2.6% in February. More moderate drops were evident in Germany, with the annual rate slipping to 2.1% from 2.3% last month, and the US sliding to 2.7% from 2.9%.
Inflation was stable in France and Italy, while it increased in Japan and the UK. Among emerging markets, inflation dropped strongly in Brazil, and moderately in South Africa. It was stable in Russia, and accelerated in India, China and Indonesia.
On a month over month basis, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.6% in March. They rose by 0.8% in France and the US, by 0.5% in Italy and Japan, by 0.4% in Canada, and by 0.3% in Germany and the UK.