According to data for January in the OECD area, the rise in energy prices by 10.6 percent last year raised the overall annual inflation rate to 2.1 percent, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported.
In December, the annual inflation rate was 1.9 percent. The increase in energy prices was highest in the U.S., at 19.1 percent. Consumer food prices in the OECD countries fell by 0.7 percent year-on-year, which is a smaller decline than in December when it was 1 percent. Excluding food and energy, other consumer prices in January had an annual increase of 1.6 percent, the same as in December 2009.
In the eurozone, annual inflation in January slightly increased to 1 percent, but it is still lower than the inflation rate in the U.S., which was 2.6 percent, Canada, which was 1.9 percent, and the United Kingdom, which had the highest annual inflation among G7 countries at 3.5 percent in January, partly due to an increase in the value-added tax to 17.5 percent.
Japan had not escaped the zone of deflation by the beginning of this year, although the year-on-year price decline in January was 1.3 percent, which is a certain reduction in the deflation rate since December 2009. Among eurozone countries, Ireland recorded significant deflation of consumer prices at 3.9 percent. In strong eurozone economies, Germany and France, the annual growth of consumer prices in January was 0.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. (Davorka Zmijarević)
