By Michael Race
Business reporter, BBC News
Price rises in the UK slowed for a second month in a row but the cost of food including milk, cheese and eggs kept inflation at a 40-year high.
Inflation, which measures the rate of price rises, fell to 10.5% in the year to December from 10.7% in November.
Petrol and diesel costs eased last month but food prices continued to soar, reaching the highest since 1977.
Restaurants and hotel prices also jumped in December along with a record rise in air fares.