In March 2024, energy prices moved into positive territory for the first time since April 2023 with a reading of +0.6%.
The inflation rate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) registered a year-on-year increase of 5.8% last March, one tenth more than in February and January, which means moving away from the lowest increase in prices since October 2021, as reported by the advanced economies ' think tank .
In the third month of 2024, food became more expensive by 4.9%, below the 5.3% increase in February, while energy prices entered positive territory for the first time since April 2023 with a reading of +0.6%. Thus, OECD core inflation remained unchanged at 6.4% in March.
Among the countries of the international organization, general inflation fell in 19 member states, with the largest monthly decrease recorded in Slovakia and the highest increase in Turkey, still above 60%. For its part, it was below 2% in seven OECD countries.
Inflation then fell in France and Germany to their lowest level since September and May 2021, respectively. On the contrary, it increased in Italy, where the decline in energy prices slowed "considerably", and in the United States, where food inflation increased "slightly." In fact, the core was the main cause of general inflation in all G7 countries.
In the euro zone, inflation measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) fell in March to 2.4%, compared to 2.6% in February. Food inflation decreased by more than one percentage point, standing at 2%, which allowed core inflation to drop for the eighth consecutive month to 2.9%.