Rising energy and food prices pushes inflation up in OECD area

Higher energy and food prices pushed inflation in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area up for the second month in a row in June.

The consumer price index shows inflation accelerated to 1.8 per cent in June, from 1.5 per cent in May and 1.3 per cent in April.

Energy prices increased 3.4 per cent in the year to June, compared with 0.5 per cent in May. Food prices rose 2.2 per cent in the year to June, compared with 1.9 per cent in May.

Excluding food and energy, the OECD annual inflation rate slowed to 1.4 per cent in June, compared with 1.5 per cent in May.

Inflation was highest in the UK at 2.9 per cent, up from 2.7 per cent the previous month. Inflation in Ireland was 0.7 per cent in June.

Annual inflation in the euro zone increased by 1.6 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent in May.

Outside the OECD area, inflation increased in China from 2.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent, in Indonesia from 5.5 per cent to 5.9 per cent, and in Brazil, from 6.5 per cent to 6.7 per cent.

In contrast, Russia saw a decrease from 7.4 per cent to 6.9 per cent, while inflation remained stable in South Africa at 5.5 per cent.