the highest rate in over two decades
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2 Dec. 2021 – Inflation in the OECD area surged to 5.2% in the 12 months to October 2021, compared with 4.6% in September, and just 1.2% in October 2020, reaching the highest rate since February 1997. In the euro area, inflation picked up markedly to 4.1% in October, from 3.4% in September and minus 0.3% a year earlier. However, it remained lower than in the OECD area as a whole, particularly compared with the United States where year-on-year inflation climbed from 5.4% in September to 6.2% in October, the highest rate since November 1990.1
Over the year, energy prices soared by 24.2% in the OECD area, more than five percentage points higher than in September (18.9%) and the highest rate since July 1980. Food price inflation in the OECD area was stable at 4.5%. Excluding food and energy, OECD year-on-year inflation rose more moderately, to 3.5%, compared with 3.2% in September.
Consumer prices, selected areas
October 2021, percentage change on the same period of the previous year, %
Source: Consumer price indices, OECD
Energy (CPI) and Food (CPI), selected areas
October 2019 – October 2021, percentage change on the same period of the previous year, %
Source: Consumer price indices, OECD
Underlying data:
- OECD, annual inflation
- G20, annual inflation
- OECD countries, contributions to annual CPI inflation by COICOP Division, current month (xlsx)
- OECD countries, contributions to annual CPI inflation, selected components, historical series (xlsx)
- G7 & non-OECD countries, zone aggregates, inflations rates, historical series graphs (xls)
1. Year-on-year growth rates are rates of change expressed over the corresponding period (month or quarter depending on data frequency) of the previous year. Also often referred to as rates of change from the previous year, annual rates of change or 12-month rates of change.
