PARIS - The pace of inflation slowed in the world's principal industrialized nations in March, coming to 0.9 percent after 1.3 percent in February on a 12-month basis, the OECD said on Wednesday.

The 30-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) added that on a monthly basis consumer prices rose by 0.3 percent in March from February.

The organization reported that energy prices were down 11.8 percent in March from the same month in 2008 after an annual decline of 8.7 percent in February.

Food prices rose an annual 4.5 percent in March compared with a gain of 4.8 percent in February.

Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, consumer prices were up an annual 1.8 percent in March against an increase of 1.9 percent in February.

The US Consumer Price Index fell by 0.4 percent in March, the first 12-month decline since 1955, according to the OECD.

Japanese consumer prices fell 0.3 percent year-on-year in March compared with a 0.1 percent drop in February while those in the eurozone rose an annual 0.6 percent in March from 1.2 percent in February.