Consumer Prices, OECD - Updated: 5 July 2022

Download the entire news release (graphs and table included - PDF)

5 July 2022 - Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 9.6% in May 2022 (Figure 1), compared with 9.2% in April 2022, largely driven by food and energy prices. This represents the sharpest price increase since August 1988. Year-on-year inflation increased in all countries except Colombia, Japan, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Ten OECD countries recorded double-digit inflation, with the highest rates recorded in Türkiye, Estonia and Lithuania.

Food price inflation in the OECD continued to surge, reaching 12.6% in May 2022 compared with 11.5% in April. Energy price inflation jumped to 35.4% year-on-year in May 2022, up from 32.9% in April. Excluding food and energy, year-on-year inflation increased to 6.4% in May 2022, compared with 6.2% in April 2022.

The G7 area saw an increase in year-on-year inflation in May, reaching 7.5%, compared with 7.1% in April. It increased in all G7 countries, except Japan where it was stable (at 2.5%), with the strongest rises between April and May 2022 recorded in Canada and Italy.

Energy prices were the main contributor to inflation in France, Germany, Italy and Japan in May, while inflation excluding food and energy continued to drive inflation in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States (Figure 2).

In the euro area, headline year-on-year inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose to 8.1% in May 2022, compared with 7.4% in April. Excluding food and energy, it increased to 3.8% in May, compared with 3.5% in April.Eurostat's flash estimate for the euro area in June 2022 points to a further increase in year-on-year inflation (to 8.6%), while inflation excluding food and energy decreased slightly (to 3.7%). Marked increases were observed in France and Italy, while inflation is estimated to have slowed down in Germany.

Year-on-year inflation in the G20 area rose to 8.8% in May 2022, compared with 8.5% in April 2022.

Source: oecd.org

Editor: IPR Daily-Selly