Inflation in OECD area hits 30-year high, ‘reflecting in part another sharp rise in Turkey’

* Photo: unsplash.com

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced the consumer price index for February 2022 today (April 5).

According to the monthly report of the OECD, the year-on-year inflation in the OECD area rose to 7.7 percent in February 2022, compared with 7.2 percent in January 2022, and just 1.7 percent in February 2021, reaching its highest inflation rate since December 1990.

The OECD has noted that "this increase reflected in part another sharp rise in inflation in Turkey, increasing from 48.7 percent in January to 54.4 percent in February". Excluding Turkey, the OECD has noted, inflation in the OECD area rose to 6.3 percent, following 5.8 percent in January.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), which announced the official consumer inflation rate for February 2022 on March 3, the annual consumer inflation rate was 54.4 percent, which was also used by the OECD in calculating the inflation rate in the OECD area.

However, the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), founded by a group of academics and announcing alternative inflation rates, announced that the annual consumer inflation rate was 123.8 percent in February.

'Notable increase in food price inflation'

Sharing further details about inflation rates, the OECD has commented that "while energy continued to boost inflation in a majority of OECD countries, food price inflation also showed a notable increase". According to the report, "excluding food and energy, year-on-year inflation in the OECD area increased to 5.5 percent, after 5.1 percent in January 2022".

Year-on-year inflation in the G20 area also increased in February 2022, reaching 6.8 percent compared with 6.5 percent in January 2022. Outside the OECD area, year-on-year inflation rose significantly in Argentina. It was stable in China and South Africa while it decreased in India.

Increase in all G7 economies

Some other highlights from the OECD report are as follows:

"In February, year-on-year inflation increased in all G7 economies. The largest increases, by 0.9 and 0.8 percentage points, were recorded in Italy and France, and the lowest increase, by 0.2 percentage point, was recorded in Germany. In the United States, year-on-year inflation, at 7.9 percent, reached its highest rate since January 1982.

"Inflation excluding food and energy was the main driver of overall inflation in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, while energy was the main contributor to inflation in France and Italy.

"In the euro area, overall inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), rose to 5.9 percent in February 2022, compared with 5.1 percent in January 2022, and just 0.9 percent in February 2021. Excluding food and energy, inflation in the euro area increased to 2.7 percent in February, compared with 2.3 percent in January.

"Eurostat's flash estimate for the euro area in March 2022 points to both year-on-year inflation and inflation excluding food and energy rising further to 7.5 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively".

Inflation in Turkey in March 2022

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) announced the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Turkey for March 2022 yesterday (April 4).

According to the TurkStat, in March 2022, the CPI, or the consumer inflation rate, increased by 5.46 percent when compared to the previous month (February 2022), by 22.81 percent when compared to last December, by 61.14 percent when compared to last March and by 29.88 percent when compared to the twelve months moving averages.

Founded by a group of academics and announcing alternative inflation rates in Turkey, the Inflation Research Group (ENAG) estimated that Turkey's monthly consumer inflation rate was 11.93 percent and its annual inflation rate was 142.63 percent in March 2022.

CLICK - 'Turkey's real inflation rate is 143 percent'

(SD)