INFLATION in the OECD area surged to 5.8% in the 12 months to November 2021, compared with 5.2% in October, and just 1.2% in November 2020, reaching the highest rate since May 1996. The rise was particularly marked in the United States, where year-on-year inflation climbed from 6.2% in October to 6.8% in November, the highest rate since June 1982. [1] In the euro area, inflation also increased strongly to 4.9% in November, from 4.1% in October and minus 0.3% a year earlier, although it remained lower than in the OECD area as a whole.

Energy prices soared by 27.7% in the OECD area in the year to November, more than three percentage points (p.p.) higher than in October (24.3%) and the highest rate since June 1980. Food price inflation in the OECD area picked up strongly to 5.5% in November, compared with 4.6% in October. Excluding food and energy, OECD year-on-year inflation rose more moderately, to 3.8%, compared with 3.5% in October, though it contributed significantly to headline inflation in a number of large economies.