Annual inflation rate in OECD countries slowed to 2.9 percent in December 2011, down from 3.1 percent in the previous month, mainly thanks to slower growth in energy prices, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Tuesday.

In its latest report, the OECD said showed that energy prices increased by 8.1 percent in December, down from 11.6 a month ago, the lowest annual rate since November 2010.

Food prices rose by 4.4 percent in December compared with 4.1 percent in November.

Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate in the OECD's 34-member countries was stable at 2.0 percent in December, the OECD figures indicated.

Euro area annual inflation, measured by the HICP, decelerated to 2.7 percent in December 2011, compared with 3.0 percent in November.

For the major seven, Japan consumer prices fell by 0.2 percent in December, the third straight month of decline. However, both France and Italy saw stable annual inflation rates of 2.5 percent and 3.3 percent respectively. Annual inflation in the rest four countries decelerated sharply with Britain registering 4.2 percent, Canada 2.3 percent, the United States 3.0 percent and Germany 2.1 percent.

"Compared to the previous month, consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 0.1 percent in December 2011. They rose by 0.7 percent in Germany, 0.4 percent in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. They were stable in Japan and decreased by 0.2 percent in the United States and by 0.6 percent in Canada," the report figures showed.