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Economists said UK inflation was likely to have edged higher last month as the Christmas holiday boosted year-end price increases.
Some economists expect consumer price index (CPI) inflation to rise in December after falling sharply last month.
Economists’ consensus forecast was for growth to jump to 3.5% last month from 3.2% in November.
Pantheon Macroeconomics economists Rob Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak said they expected CPI growth to slow to 3.3% in December.
Tobacco duty hikes announced in November’s autumn budget are expected to push up headline inflation that month.
Flight and hotel prices are also expected to soar amid strong demand for Christmas travel.
Analysts predict that air ticket prices may rise by about 30% between November and December.
But economists stressed that the choice of date for this meeting National Bureau of Statistics It is vital that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects the latest inflation data because prices will vary throughout the month.
If collected later this month, travel prices may rise due to the school holidays, pushing up headline inflation.
Andrew Goodwin, UK Chief Economist Oxford Economicssaid he believed the slowdown in cost-of-living increases “temporarily stopped” in December.
“Part of the downward pressure in November came from volatile categories including apparel, air tickets and accommodation services, which is likely to ease in December, although the date of data collection may have a crucial impact on the air ticket results,” he said.
He expects CPI inflation to rise sharply to 3.6% in December.
On the other hand, analysts barclays bank said they believed inflation would remain unchanged at 3.2% in December.
They forecast energy price inflation to slow while food and drink price increases will stabilize by the end of the year.
But experts say they think inflation will still be falling this year.
Victoria Scholar, head of investments at Interactive Investor, said: “In the longer term, the trajectory of inflation remains on the downside and will return to the 2% target later this year.”
“November’s budget headmaster It’s widely seen as deflationary due to austerity fiscal measures, including tax increases and spending cuts,” she said.
“In addition, increasing signs of labor market weakness are also easing inflationary pressures on the UK economy.”