Year-on-year inflation in the OECD area, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), was generally stable, at 5.7%, in April 2024, after 5.8% in March and 5.7% in January and February (graphs 1 and 2). Headline inflation fell in 24 of the 38 OECD countries.
According to a press release, the largest declines, of 0.5 percentage points (pp) or more, were recorded in Estonia, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Luxembourg, Austria and Slovenia. Increases were recorded in the remaining third of OECD countries. Headline inflation was below 2.0% in seven OECD countries, the same number as in March.
“Underlying inflation (inflation excluding food and energy) in the OECD zone, adds the same Source, decreased to reach 6.2%, after 6.4% in March, with declines recorded in three-quarters of the OECD countries. the OECD. Inflation in services has also slowed in the majority of countries.
Energy inflation in the OECD area continued to rise, reaching 1.2% in April, after 0.6% in March. Food inflation in the OECD area remained generally stable, at 4.8% in April, after 4.9% in March,” the document reads.
Year-on-year inflation in the G7 fell slightly to 2.9% in April, returning to its level of January and February 2024. The largest falls in headline inflation were recorded in the United Kingdom, where the cap regulation of household energy bills was reduced in April, and in Italy. In both countries, energy prices continued to fall by more than 10% year-on-year. Headline inflation fell more moderately in Canada and Japan and remained stable in Germany, the United States and France.
Core inflation in the G7 fell to 3.3% in April, from 3.5% in March, reaching its lowest level since October 2021. Food inflation in the G7 remained broadly stable while that energy inflation increased slightly. Core inflation was the main contributor to headline inflation in all G7 countries.
In the euro area, year-on-year inflation, measured by the harmonized consumer price index (HICP), remained stable at 2.4% in April. Increases in food and energy inflation were offset by a fall in core inflation, which fell for the ninth consecutive month. In May 2024, Eurostat’s flash estimate indicates an increase in year-on-year inflation in the euro area, which would have reached 2.6%, with an increase in underlying inflation, and energy inflation which would have become positive for the first time since April 2023.
In the G20, year-on-year inflation was stable at 6.9% in April. Headline inflation rose in China and Argentina, while it fell in Brazil and South Africa. Headline inflation remained broadly stable in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
Adou Faye
