Inflation Rises to 4% in December; Food Prices Ease but Tobacco, Alcohol See Large Hikes
• Annual inflation rose to 4% in December, higher than the 3.8% expected • Shipping cost increases from Red Sea diversions not yet fully captured in data • Tobacco and alcohol price hikes were the largest contributors to inflation growth • Food inflation fell to 8% from 9.2% in November • Core inflation unchanged at 5.1%, wage growth has slowed to 6.6% from 7.3%