Food inflation across OECD countries reached its lowest level in February since October 2021, according to a new report.
The France-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported food prices rose at 5.3% across its 38 member states in February, down from 6.3% in January.
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The last time food inflation in the OECD was below 6% was in November 2021, when it stood at 5.5%. In October that year, food inflation was 4.6%.
February’s food inflation marked the 15th consecutive rate in which the rate at which prices rose had eased. The month was also the first time since November 2021 that food inflation was lower than the headline rate.
The headline figure, measured by the consumer prices index, was “stable” in February at 5.7%, having hovered around 6% since May 2023, the OECD said.
Turkey saw an increase in its rate of food inflation in February, rising from 69.7% in January to 71.1%. The OECD said the country also suffered from strong energy inflation, similarly to the newest member of the organisation, Colombia.
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By GlobalDataIn Korea, food inflation stood at 6.9%, compared to 5.9% in January.
In the UK, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages were slightly below the OECD average, rising by 5% in the year to February, down from 7% the month prior. This rise was the lowest since the beginning of 2022 and below the recent groundbreaking high of 19.2% in March 2023.
The US reported a marginal drop in food inflation, from 1.2% to 1% while across the globe, Japan’s prices eased to a yearly rise of 5.2% in February, down from 6.3% in January.
The Paris-based OECD reported that the average figures for G7 countries, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, dropped to 2.1% from 3% in January.
