Inflation across the OECD area surged to a 25-year high of 5.8 per cent in November.
The latest figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) come against a backdrop of soaring energy prices and supply chain disruption related to Covid-19.
This has triggered a cost-of-living squeeze, with governments scrambling to protect poorer households from rising energy prices.
The OECD said annualised price growth across OECD nations rose to 5.8 per cent in the 12 months to November 2021, compared with 5.2 per cent the previous month, and just 1.2 per cent in November 2020.
This was the highest rate of inflation recorded since May 1996.
The OCED said the rise was particularly marked in the US, where year-on-year inflation climbed from 6.2 per cent in October to 6.8 per cent in November, the highest rate since June 1982.
In the euro zone inflation also increased strongly to 4.9 per cent in November, from 4.1 per cent in October and (minus) -0.3 per cent a year earlier, although it remained lower than in the OECD area as a whole.
More up to date Eurostat figures on Friday showed euro zone inflation rose to 5 per cent in December, a record high for the currency bloc and well ahead of analysts’ expectation for 4.7 per cent.
In response, European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist Philip Lane said the current high rates should not be interpreted in relation to historical norms but were part of what he termed a “pandemic cycle of inflation”.
Prices
The OECD figures show energy prices soared by 27.7 per cent in the year to November, more than three percentage points higher than in October (24.3 per cent) and the highest rate since June 1980.
Food price inflation also picked up strongly to 5.5 per cent in November, compared with 4.6 per cent in October.
Excluding food and energy, OECD year-on-year inflation rose more moderately to 3.8 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent in October, though it contributed significantly to headline inflation in a number of large economies.
