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Consumer prices in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) area fell by 0.3 % in the year to September 2009, the same rate as August. Month-on-month, prices remained stable in September, compared with a rise of 0.2% in August 2009.

In Japan, one of only two countries in Asia that are OECD members, consumer prices dropped by 2.2% in the year to September, unchanged from the last two months. However, over in Korea, consumer prices increased by 2.2%.

Across the OECD countries, consumer prices for energy were down by 13.9% in the year to September 2009, following a fall of 14.4% in August. Consumer prices for food fell by 0.4% in the year to September 2009, compared with a rise of 0.1% in August. Excluding food and energy, consumer prices rose by 1.5% in the year to September 2009, the same rate as August 2009.

Month-on-month, the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) remained stable in September, compared with an increase of 0.3% in August. Excluding food and energy, the year-on-year rise in the HICP amounted to 1.2% in September, compared with 1.3% in August.

In the U.S., the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 1.3% over the year to September 2009, compared with a decline of 1.5% in the year to August.

The OECD member countries are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.

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