OECD Inflation Climbs to 5.9% in May

Inflation News in Plain English (With a Dash of Humor)

Hey, folks! Grab a coffee. Inflation in the OECD is inching up, but don’t panic yet. Here’s what the numbers are telling us in a nutshell.

May 2024 CPI in the OECD jumped 5.9% from 5.7% last month.
Since October 2023, the rate’s stuck around 6.0%—no wild swings.
Headline inflation spiked in 18 of 38 OECD countries, but pulled down in 13.

Energy inflation swerved from -0.1% in April to a steep 2.5% in May.
All this because 24 countries saw gains. The strongest were Türkiye, Denmark, and Japan.
In Türkiye, energy costs doubled compared to May last year, thanks to that quirky gas allowance from May 2023.

Core inflation (foods & energy off the table) stayed fairly constant at 6.1% in May (slightly down from 6.2% in April).
Food inflation held steady just under 5.0% for a third month straight.

Headline inflation in the G7 was steady at 2.9% in May.
Food and core inflation dipped a tad; energy prices slowed down a bit.
Italy remains the lowest at 0.8%, crushing the energy deflation thing.
Japan nudged up by 0.3 points, thanks to a sudden energy price jump (utility subsidies were phased out).
France also saw a rapid rise in energy prices.
Core inflation was the main driver behind headline numbers across almost all G7 nations.

Ya can’t believe it—year‑on‑year inflation moved up to 2.6% from 2.4%.
Core inflation finally picked up again after a dip in June 2023.
Energy prices kept climbing, but the spikes differ wildly from country to country.
Food inflation got a tiny decline.

Inflation rose marginally to 7.3% in May from 7.1%.
Indonesia’s headline slightly fell, whereas Argentina was wildly up at >270%.
Brazil had its first uptick since September 2023.
China, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa were on the chill side—stable inflation.

That’s the rundown. Inflation is a moving target, but these stats give you a baseline to riff with. Stay tuned… or, at least, keep your wallet ready.