Consumer prices rose by 2.7% on average last year among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Feb. 1. The annual rate at the end of December marked a slight rise from 2.6% in November, it added.
Prices for food increased by 1.2% in December on a 12-month basis, up sharply from 0.7% in November.
When volatile food and energy prices were stripped out, consumer price inflation was unchanged at 1.9%, however.
Broken down by region or country, inflation came to 2.3% in the 12-nation eurozone in December, 3.4% in the U.S., and 2.2% in Britain and Canada.
In Japan, consumer prices decreased by 0.1%.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
