New Delhi: Retail inflation moved up marginally to 5 percent in December as prices of some food items, including fruits and vegetables, increased.
In November, retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was at 4.38 percent -- the lowest level since government started computing the new series of data in January 2012.
In December 2013, retail inflation was at 9.87 percent.
Despite surge in retail inflation, analysts expect that RBI may ease interest rate in its February monetary policy review. RBI is scheduled to announce its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy on February 3.
Food inflation rose to 4.78 percent in December 2014, from 3.14 percent in previous month, showed the official data which was released on Monday.
Retail prices of vegetables increased by 0.58 percent as against a decline of 10.9 percent in November.
Fruits were costlier by 14.84 percent, while the rate of price rise for the same was at 13.74 percent in previous month.
Category under food and beverages witnessed a rise of 5 percent in December, over 3.5 percent in previous month.
Inflation in protein-rich items like eggs, fish and meat was down at 5.24 percent in December, from 6.48 percent in the previous month.
Also, prices of oil and fats declined by 1.24 percent in December over a decline of 0.83 percent in November.
"We also have a view that the February policy (of RBI) could see a rate cut. But, I would put a caveat that out of all the pre-conditions that the RBI governor laid down in the last policy ... But I am more concerned about how the budget 2015-16 is going to look like.
"But purely on inflation argument, I would say that the time has come for a rate cut," said Samiran Chakraborty, Head of Research, StanChart Bank.
Among other items, prices of cereals and their products came down further to 3.98 percent in December from 5.2 percent in previous month.
In the pulses and products category, retail inflation in December stood at 7.24 percent, marginally down from 7.54 percent in November.
For items in fuel and lights, inflation softened to 3.41 percent during the month. For milk and its products, the rate of price rise stood at 9.62 percent in December against 10.24 percent a month ago.
The rate of price rise in non-alcoholic beverages was 5.95 percent in December from 5.75 percent in previous month.
Sugar prices fell further by 0.84 percent during the month compared to a decline of 0.28 percent rise in November.
The consumer inflation rose to 5.32 percent in urban India and 4.71 percent in rural area during December. In the previous month of November, the respective figures stood at 4.69 percent and 4.09 percent.
