The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its report on inflation trends among member countries during February. The report indicated that prices decelerated to 4.5%, down from 4.7% recorded in January.
Among the countries with the highest inflation were Colombia, following Turkey and preceding Hungary. The average inflation rate for OECD members stood at 4.5% in February 2025.
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Inflation decreased in 15 out of the 38 OECD countries and remained nearly stable in 15 others. However, it increased in eight nations, with increases exceeding 1.0 percentage point in Estonia and Norway.
Turkey’s inflation reached 39.1% in February, a significantly higher figure compared to other countries; Hungary was at 5.6%, and Colombia at 5.3%. The reasons behind these high prices are explained by economic experts.
“These economies show a greater vulnerability to inflation due to several factors,” said John Torres, head of economic research at Native Capital Management. “In Turkey and Hungary, institutional weakness and unorthodox monetary policies have undermined macroeconomic credibility, leading to marked imbalances in areas like inflation.”
“In Colombia’s case, structural decisions have impacted inflation, which still hasn’t reached the target set by the Banco de la República,” added the expert. Colombia experienced a setback in inflation behavior in February after two years of declines, remaining far from the Banrep’s 3% inflation goal.
Estonia, Poland, Chile, and Iceland also reported significant increases, with rates of 5.3%, 4.9%, 4.7%, and 4.5% respectively.
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In the G7, inflation slowed to 2.7% in February from 2.9% in January. In France, inflation decreased significantly due to a sharp drop in electricity prices with regulated tariffs reduced by an average of 15%. Japan’s general inflation fell slightly in February due to a decline in energy inflation, although it remains the highest among G7 countries.
General inflation decreased by 0.2 percentage points in the UK and the US but rose by 0.7 percentage points in Canada, influenced by the end of tax exemptions for certain products like food, drinks, and books.
In the Eurozone, inflation interannual dropped to 2.3% in February from 2.5% in January, mainly due to a decrease in energy inflation. Despite this, Eurostat’s preliminary March estimate shows general inflation in the Eurozone remained almost unchanged at 2.2%, masking variations among member states.
“Inflation increased by 0.4 percentage points in Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Lithuania,” reported the OECD.
