SYDNEY, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Australian core inflation accelerated to its fastest annual pace since 2014 in the December quarter as fuel and housing costs led broad-based price pressures, a shock that will stoke market speculation of an early hike in interest rates.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Tuesday showed the headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% for the year, above forecasts.
The trimmed mean measure of core inflation favoured by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) jumped to 1.0% in the quarter, above forecasts of 0.7%. The annual pace picked up to 2.6%, above the 2.3% forecast and atop the middle of the RBA's 2% to 3% target range.
