diff --git a/src/pch.c b/src/pch.c
index 9eae5eb..3e544e0 100644
--- a/src/pch.c
+++ b/src/pch.c
@@ -390,6 +390,14 @@ skip_hex_digits (char const *str)
   return s == str ? NULL : s;
 }
 
+static char const * _GL_ATTRIBUTE_PURE
+skip_spaces (char const *str)
+{
+  while (isspace ((unsigned char) *str))
+    str++;
+  return str;
+}
+
 static bool
 name_is_valid (char const *name)
 {
diff --git a/src/util.h b/src/util.h
index f4e5258..71e219c 100644
--- a/src/util.h
+++ b/src/util.h
@@ -81,12 +81,4 @@ enum file_attributes {
 void set_file_attributes (char const *, enum file_attributes, char const *,
 			  const struct stat *, mode_t, struct timespec *);
 
-static inline char const * _GL_ATTRIBUTE_PURE
-skip_spaces (char const *str)
-{
-  while (isspace ((unsigned char) *str))
-    str++;
-  return str;
-}
-
 int make_tempfile(char const **, char, char const *, int, mode_t);