Food and energy boost inflation in August: OECD

Inflation continued to accelerate in August, according to new data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based group reported that annual inflation edged up to 4.3% in August from 4.2% in July. The increase continued a trend that began in December 2020, it noted.

The rise in August was largely driven by higher energy and food prices, the OECD said.

In particular, energy prices in the OECD area rose at the fastest rate since the financial crisis (September 2008).

In August energy prices were up 18% annually, versus 17.4% in July.

Food prices rose 3.6% in August, up from 3.1% in July.

Excluding food and energy, annual inflation in the OECD area was stable at 3.1% for the third straight month, the group said.

It also reported that annual inflation “picked up strongly” in Europe, coming in at 3% in August, up from 2.2% in July.

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.