OECD JANUARY ANNUAL INFLATION STEADY AT 2.1 PCT

  Inflation in the 24 industrialised
  nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
  Development was 2.1 pct in the year to January, unchanged from
  December, the OECD said.
      But monthly inflation throughout the OECD was an average
  0.4 pct in January, a rise compared to the 0.2 pct in the last
  quarter.
      Retail energy prices rose strongly in January, reflecting
  the firming of world oil prices. For OECD states the increase
  was 0.7 pct but the January level of retail energy prices was
  still 11.6 pct lower than a year earlier, the OECD said.
      The increase in consumer prices excluding food and energy,
  at 0.4 pct in January for the whole OECD area, was unchanged on
  the four previous months, but over the year to January OECD
  consumer prices rose by 3.5 pct, against 3.3 pct in December.
      Unadjusted annual inflation for the seven leading
  industrialised nations in January was running at 4.4 pct in
  Italy, 3.9 pct in Britain and Canada, three pct in France, 1.4
  pct in the U.S., Minus 0.8 pct in West Germany and minus 1.5
  pct in Japan, the OECD said.
  

