Surging food costs power inflation in April: OECD

Global inflation continued its surge in April, even as energy costs eased, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based group reported that annual consumer inflation in the OECD area rose to 9.2% in April, up from 8.8% in March, as food price increases accelerated. Services prices rose too during the month, it said.

Food price inflation hit 11.5% in April, which was a notable jump from 10% in March, the OECD noted.

This was somewhat offset by a deceleration in energy prices in April, which declined by 1.2 percentage points from the previous month to a still-elevated 32.5% annual rate.

Excluding food and energy, year-over-year inflation increased to 6.3% in April, compared with 5.9% the previous month.

In particular, the OECD said services prices accelerated in April, reaching a 4.4% average annual rate, up from 3.9% in March.

The OECD noted some variation within its members, with nine countries experiencing double-digit inflation rates in the month, while inflation moderated in five countries, including the U.S., Italy and Spain.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.