Headline inflation continued its decline, led by falling energy prices, according to new data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Paris-based group reported that overall consumer inflation dropped to 4.4% in September, down from 4.7% in August, as price pressures eased in 27 of the 38 OECD countries. The inflation rate was also stable in five countries and increased in six countries.
The drop in headline inflation came as energy inflation remained negative in September, the OECD said.
Indeed, energy price inflation was increasingly negative, as the annual rate fell to -2.2% in September, down from -0.4% in August.
The OECD said energy inflation eased in 34 countries, and prices dropped in 17 of them.
Core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) remained “broadly stable,” it noted.
For the G7 countries, headline inflation slowed in September, declining to 2.2%, down from 2.4% in August, thanks to falling energy prices.
“Core inflation remained the main contributor to headline inflation in all G7 countries except for Japan where the combined contribution of food and energy inflation was equal to that of core inflation,” the OECD said.
It also noted that, despite the easing of headline inflation, average prices across the OECD, “were approximately 30% higher in September” than they were before the onset of the pandemic.