Philippines' December inflation at 8.1% y/y

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine annual inflation was 8.1% in December, the statistics agency said on Thursday, slightly above the 8.0% rate in November.

Last month's inflation figure was below the 8.2% median forecast in a Reuters poll, but within the central bank's 7.8% to 8.6% forecast for December. It brought the full-year average rate to 5.8%, outside the official 2%-4% target band.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Ed Davies)