Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.4% in the year to February 2011, compared with 2.2% in January - the highest rate since October 2008. This increase was again driven by food and energy inflation which accelerated to 3.0% and 10.1% respectively in February, compared with 2.6% and 8.4% in January.

Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate was stable at 1.3 % in February 2011.

Consumer prices, selected areas
February 2011, percentage change on the same month of the previous year


Inflation accelerated in the year to February 2011 in the United States (to 2.1%, up from 1.6%), the United Kingdom (to 4.4%, up from 4.0% in January), Italy (to 2.4%, up from 2.1%) and Germany (to 2.1%, up from 2.0%). It decelerated slightly in Canada (to 2.2%, down from 2.3%) and France (to 1.7%, down from 1.8%) and was stable in Japan with the rate at 0.0% for the third consecutive month. Euro area annual inflation (HICP) rose to 2.4%, up from 2.3% in January.

Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.4% in February 2011. They rose by 0.8% in the United Kingdom, 0.5 % in France, Germany and the United States, and by 0.3% in Canada and Italy. They fell by 0.1% in Japan.