Spain's national prices rise 0.3 percent in December

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish national consumer prices rose 0.3 percent year-on-year in December, according to final data from the National Statistics Institute on Wednesday, at a steeper rate than a 0.2 percent rise in the previous month.

Spanish European Union-harmonised prices also rose 0.3 percent year-on-year, in line with forecast.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 0.2 percent year on year, compared to a reading of 0.4 percent a month earlier.

(Reporting By Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Blanca Rodriguez)