OECD – Paris, 4 April 2023
Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 8.8% in February 2023, down from 9.2% in January (Figures 1 and 3). Declines in inflation between January and February 2023 were recorded in 23 of the 38 OECD countries, with the largest decreases observed in Costa Rica and Türkiye. In February, 13 countries registered double-digit inflation, down from 14 in January. Inflation rates remained above 20% in Hungary, Latvia and Türkiye.
Energy inflation continued to slow in the OECD, standing at 11.9% in February 2023, down from 16.4% in January. It declined in all countries, except Colombia and Poland, with falls of more than 10 percentage points in Belgium, Costa Rica, Italy and Japan. Energy prices even fell in Canada and Japan, for the first time since the beginning of 2021, as gasoline prices dropped in Canada and electricity and gas subsidies dampened prices in Japan. Food inflation in the OECD declined for the third consecutive month, down to 14.9% from 15.2% in January. At 7.3% in February, OECD inflation less food and energy was broadly stable.
Year-on-year inflation in the G7 declined to 6.4% in February 2023, from 6.7% in January. Decreases were registered in Canada, Italy, Japan and the United States. Headline inflation increased in France and the United Kingdom, while it was stable in Germany. Food and energy inflation continued to be the main contributors to headline inflation in France and Italy, while inflation excluding food and energy was the main driver in Canada and the United States. In Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, both components contributed almost equally to headline inflation (Figure 2).
In the euro area, year-on-year inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) declined slightly to 8.5% in February 2023, from 8.7% in January. Year-on-year inflation in the euro area fell sharply to 6.9% in March from 8.5% in February, according to Eurostat’s flash estimate, as energy prices dropped. Inflation less food and energy was estimated to be broadly stable at 5.7%.
In the G20, year-on-year inflation fell to 8.0% in February 2023, from 8.4% in January. Outside the OECD, inflation decreased in Brazil, China and Saudi Arabia, but increased in Argentina, Indonesia and South Africa. It was stable in India.
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