(MENAFN) The yearly consumer inflation rate within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) region remained unchanged at 4.1% in August, based on data made public on Monday.

Despite this overall stability, inflation trends varied across member nations, highlighting both regional disparities and ongoing economic pressures.

Out of the 38 OECD countries, 15 experienced a rise in inflation. In particular, inflation persisted above 5% in Colombia and Estonia, while Türkiye recorded an alarming rate exceeding 30%.

Conversely, inflation fell in 13 countries and remained steady or largely unchanged in 10 others.

According to a statement by the OECD, "Year-on-year food inflation in the OECD rose to 5% in August, up from 4.5% in July, reaching its highest level since February 2024 and with marked increases recorded in Türkiye, (South) Korea, and Colombia."

This signifies a noticeable acceleration in food prices, especially in countries already facing elevated inflationary pressures.

Comparing current food prices to pre-pandemic levels, August data revealed that prices were 45.8% higher than in December 2019.

This substantial increase underscores the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in global supply chains, and the onset of the war in Ukraine.

Among the primary components of inflation—core, food, and energy—food inflation has seen the most significant overall growth.

Energy costs also saw an uptick across the OECD area in August, climbing to 0.7%, a modest rise from 0.3% the previous month.

Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, experienced a slight decrease, easing to 4.3%.

Within the Group of Seven (G7) economies, overall annual inflation stayed roughly consistent at 2.7% in August.

The rate increased by 0.2 percentage points in Canada, Germany, and the United States. However, Japan registered a decline, largely driven by decreases in both food and energy inflation.

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