REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
A balloon rises into the sky during the International Balloon Fiesta near Bristol in western England.
Economists predict prices rose 0.3% from a month earlier in December after a flat reading in November, bringing the year-on-year headline inflation rate to 1.5% from 1.2%.
Core consumer prices - a measure that strips out food and energy - are expected to have risen 0.1% in December, marking a slowdown from November's 0.2% advance and leaving the year-on-year core inflation rate unchanged at 1.7%.
The inflation rate is under close scrutiny by market participants as it takes on increased importance in the Federal Reserve's forward guidance on the likely future path of short-term interest rates.
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