OECD inflation declines further to 7.4% in April 2023, but core inflation remains elevated

June 9, 2023

Year-on-year inflation in the OECD, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), decreased to 7.4% in April 2023, down from 7.7% in March 2023. Between March and April 2023, inflation declined in 27 of the 38 OECD countries. However, it surpassed 10% in 10 countries and exceeded 20% in Hungary and Türkiye.

Food and energy inflation in the OECD continued to slow significantly. Food inflation dropped to 12.1%, down from 14.0% in March, with declines in 33 OECD countries. It remained above 10% in 30 OECD countries. Energy inflation in the OECD fell further to 0.7% between March and April, following a steep drop from 11.9% to 1.3% between February and March.

OECD inflation less food and energy (core inflation) remained broadly stable, but elevated, at 7.1% in April 2023 (7.2% in March). Inflation less food and energy even edged up in 13 OECD countries, mainly driven by services inflation, which represents about two-thirds of inflation less food and energy. Services inflation, estimated from information available for 33 OECD countries, moderated slightly from 6.2% in March to 6.0% in April on average, but rose in about half of these 33 countries.

Year-on-year inflation in the G7 was stable at 5.4% in April 2023. The United Kingdom registered the most significant drop among G7 countries, reflecting a sharp decrease in energy inflation, despite a marked rise in core inflation which reached its highest rate since March 1991. Italy recorded the largest increase in headline inflation, largely driven by rising energy inflation. Food and energy inflation remained the main contributors to headline inflation in Italy, while core inflation served as the main driver in Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. In France, both components contributed almost equally to headline inflation.

In the euro area, year-on-year inflation, as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased slightly to 7.0% in April 2023, from 6.9% in March. The increase in energy inflation more than offset the fall in food inflation and the slight decline in core inflation. Eurostat’s flash estimate for May 2023 points to a fall in year-on-year inflation in the euro area, to 6.1%, with core inflation estimated to have declined while energy prices were estimated to have dropped year-on-year in May.

In the G20, year-on-year inflation declined to 6.5% in April 2023, from 6.9% in March. Outside the OECD, inflation decreased in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa, but increased in Argentina. It was stable in Saudi Arabia.

Source: OECD
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