Annual inflation in the OECD area picked up to 2.1 % in July 2019, from 2.0 % in June, as annual inflation excluding food and energy increased to 2.3 %, compared with 2.2 % in June. Energy prices were flat, following the (minus) 0.2 % decrease in June, while food price inflation slowed slightly to 2.1 %, compared with 2.2 % in June.
In July 2019, annual inflation picked up marginally in the United States (to 1.8 %, from 1.6 % in June), Germany (to 1.7 %, from 1.6 %) and in the United Kingdom (to 2.0 %, from 1.9 %). It was stable in Canada (at 2.0 %) and decreased slightly in both Italy and Japan (to 0.5 %, from 0.7 %) and in France (to 1.1 %, from 1.2 %).
Annual inflation in the Euro area, as measured by the HICP[1], decreased to 1.0 % in July, compared with 1.3 % in June. Excluding food and energy, euro area inflation also decreased, to 0.9 % in July, compared with 1.1 % in June. Eurostat’s flash estimate in August, points to annual inflation and inflation excluding food and energy stable at 1.0 % and 0.9 %, respectively.
Annual inflation in the G20[2] area decreased to 3.3 % in July 2019, compared with 3.5 % in June. Among non-OECD G20 economies, annual inflation decreased marginally, but remained very high in Argentina (to 54.4 %, from 55.8 %). Decreases in inflation were also recorded in India (to 6.0 %, from 8.6 %), Brazil (to 3.2 %, from 3.4 %), the Russian Federation (to 4.6 %, from 4.7 %) and in South Africa (to 4.0 %, from 4.5 %). In Saudi Arabia prices continued to fall albeit at a slower pace (minus 1.3 % in July compared to minus 1.4 % in June). On the other hand, annual inflation remained stable in Indonesia (at 3.3 % – for the third consecutive month) and picked up marginally in China (to 2.8 %, from 2.7 %).
