In the 12-months to November, inflation hit a ten year high of 19.8 percent, when the index rose by 4.4 percent in the preceding 30 days.
On a 12-month moving average, Sri Lanka's annual inflation rate rose to 13.7 percent in December, compared with 12.7 percent in November.
The government uses a 12-month moving average as the official figure for inflation. Census department said a short supply of most locally produced food items for the festive season pushed prices up.
The consumer price index was at 5114.1in December from 4998.4 in November, a jump of 2.3 percent, the census department said.
The inflation data were below market expectations, with analysts expecting a slight acceleration to around 14.0 percent.
The government cut import duties of several items in the food basket in December including potatoes, wheat flour and rice, in a bid to push down food prices.
The census department said the price of potatoes went down.
Sri Lanka's Central Bank Gover