India's retail inflation ticks up, still under RBI's limit
India's retail inflation rose to 1.33% in December 2025—up from November's 0.71% and hitting a three-month high.
Even with this bump, inflation stayed below the Reserve Bank of India's comfort zone (2-6%) for the fourth month straight.
Food prices stay down, but city costs climb
Food prices kept falling (though not as much as before), helping keep overall inflation in check.
Rural inflation crept up to 0.76%, but urban areas saw a bigger jump to 2.03%.
Meanwhile, the uptick in headline inflation was driven by higher prices of personal care items, vegetables, meat and fish, eggs, spices, and pulses.
What else changed?
Housing costs eased a bit, while education and health expenses held steady around 3%.
If you track these numbers or just want a clearer picture of rising costs, heads up: Starting February, the Consumer Price Index will use a new base year (2024) and get updated to better reflect what people are actually spending on now.