U.S. annual core inflation was flat in December 2019 compared with the prior month's annual print, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.

Core inflation came in at 2.3% year over year in December 2019, unchanged from November 2019 and in line with the consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday.

On a monthly basis, the core inflation, which excludes food and energy, came in at 0.1% in December 2019, compared with the Econoday consensus estimate and prior month's reading of 0.2%.

Indexes for shelter, medical care, recreation, apparel, motor vehicle insurance and new vehicles rose month over month in December 2019, while those for used cars and trucks, household furnishings and operations, and airline fares fell.

The broader U.S. consumer price index advanced 2.3% year over year in December 2019, in line with the Econoday consensus estimate and higher than November 2019's growth rate of 2.1%. Energy prices climbed 3.4% on a yearly basis, while food prices rose 1.8%.

The annual headline consumer price inflation rate for December 2019 was the highest since October 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index gained 0.2% in December 2019 following a 0.3% print in the previous month.

Toward the end of 2019, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's favored measure of inflation, rose 1.6% year over year in November 2019 after the prior month's reading was revised up to 1.7%. Separately, the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers showed that consumer projections for year-ahead annual inflation were 2.3%.