Inflation continues to surge

Year-on-year inflation in the OECD area climbed to 9.6% in the year to May 2022, compared with 9.2% in April. This represents the sharpest price increase since August 1988.

Food price inflation in the OECD continued to surge, reaching 12.6% in May 2022 compared with 11.5% in April. Energy price inflation jumped to 35.4% year-on-year in May 2022, up from 32.9% in April. Excluding food and energy, year-on-year inflation increased to 6.4% in May 2022, compared with 6.2% in April 2022.

In the euro area, headline year-on-year inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose to 8.1% in May 2022, compared with 7.4% in April. Marked increases were observed in France and Italy, while inflation is estimated to have slowed in Germany.

See also: Press release - Consumer Prices, OECD - Updated: 5 July 2022