The consumer price index posted an annual growth of 3.4 percent in December after rising 3.2 percent in November, the Office for National Statistics said.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices gained 0.4 percent, reversing a fall of 0.2 percent in November. The monthly increase matched expectations.

However, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, core inflation remained unchanged at 3.2 percent in December. This was the joint-lowest rate since December 2024.

Data showed that alcohol and tobacco, restaurants and hotels, and transport led the upward contributions to the annual inflation.

Separately, ONS reported that input price inflation softened to 0.8 percent in December from 1.1 percent in November. At the same time, output price inflation held steady at 3.4 percent.

On a monthly basis, input prices dropped 0.2 percent, in contrast to the 0.5 percent increase a month ago. Output prices remained flat after November's 0.1 percent gain.

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