OECD area annual inflation was stable at 2.8% in the year to February, with diverging and offsetting movements in energy and food price inflation. Energy prices accelerated to 7.9% in the year to February, up from 7.4% in January, while food price inflation slowed to 3.9% in the year to February, down from 4.3% in January.
Annual inflation continued to decline in the United Kingdom (to 3.4% in February, down from 3.6% in January) and was stable in France (at 2.3%) and the United States (2.9%). It edged up in Canada (to 2.6%, up from 2.5% in January), Italy (to 3.3%, up from 3.2% in January), Germany (to 2.3%, up from 2.1% in January) and Japan (to 0.3%, up from 0.1% in January).
Euro area annual inflation (as measured by the HICP) was stable at 2.7% in February, compared with January.
In all other major economies, except India, annual inflation decelerated. The most noticeable deceleration occurred in China, with inflation slowing to 3.2% in the year to February, down from 4.5% in January – the lowest rate since June 2010. It also slowed markedly in the Russian Federation (to 3.7%, down from 4.2% in January) and Brazil (to 5.8%, down from 6.2% in January), and marginally in Indonesia and in South Africa. Inflation accelerated strongly in India (to 7.6%, up from 5.3% in January) but remained below its recent high of 10.1% in September 2011.
Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.4% in February 2012. They rose by 0.7% in Germany, 0.6% in the United Kingdom, 0.4% in Canada, France, Italy and in the United States, and by 0.2% in Japan.