5 June 2024 – Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained broadly stable at 5.7% in April 2024, after 5.8% in March and 5.7% in January and February (Figures 1 and 2). Headline inflation declined in 24 of 38 OECD countries, with the largest falls of 0.5 percentage point (p.p.) or more, recorded in Estonia, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Luxembourg, Austria, and Slovenia. The remaining third of OECD countries recorded increases. Headline inflation was below 2.0% in seven OECD countries, the same number as in March.
OECD core inflation (inflation less food and energy) declined to 6.2%, after 6.4% in March, with falls in three-quarters of OECD countries. Services inflation also decelerated in a majority of countries. OECD energy inflation continued to increase, reaching 1.2% in April, after 0.6% in March. Food inflation in the OECD remained broadly stable, at 4.8% in April, after 4.9% in March.
Year-on-year inflation in the G7 decreased slightly, to 2.9% in April, returning to the levels of January and February 2024. The largest falls in headline inflation were recorded in the United Kingdom, where the regulatory cap on household energy bills was cut in April, and in Italy. In both countries, energy prices continued to decline by more than 10% year-on-year. Headline inflation declined more moderately in Canada and Japan and remained stable in France, Germany, and the United States. Core inflation in the G7 declined to 3.3% in April, after 3.5% in March, reaching its lowest level since October 2021. Food inflation in the G7 remained broadly stable while energy inflation increased slightly. Core inflation was the main contributor to headline inflation in all G7 countries (Figure 3).
In the euro area, year-on-year inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) remained stable at 2.4% in April. Increases in food and energy inflation were offset by a decline in core inflation, which has been decreasing for nine months in a row. Eurostat’s in May 2024 points to an increase in year-on-year inflation in the euro area, to 2.6%, with core inflation rising and energy inflation turning positive for the first time since April 2023.
In the G20, year-on-year inflation was stable at 6.9% in April. Headline inflation increased in China and Argentina while it fell in Brazil and South Africa. Headline inflation remained broadly stable in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia (Table 2).
Underlying data:
