India inflation rises to 1.33% in December

India's consumer inflation rose to 1.33% in December from 0.71% in November, driven mainly by higher food and personal care prices, and came in below a Reuters poll expectation of about 1.5%.

India's consumer inflation rose to 1.33% in December, up from 0.71% in November. Officials reported the increase was largely due to higher prices for food items and personal care products. The December print was below a Reuters poll median expectation of about 1.5%. Urban inflation rose more than rural inflation in the month. Key data points: - Headline consumer inflation: 1.33% in December, compared with 0.71% in November. - Officials cited rising prices for personal care and effects, vegetables, meat and fish, egg, spices and pulses. - Rural inflation was 0.76% and urban inflation was 2.03% in December; fuel and light inflation eased to 1.97% from 2.32% in November. - The Reserve Bank of India projects consumer inflation of 2.0% for the fiscal year ending March 2026 and has quarter-by-quarter estimates for 2026. Summary: The uptick in December follows a period of unusually low headline inflation that weighed on nominal GDP growth in 2025, a point noted by officials. India released early GDP estimates showing real growth of 7.4% and nominal growth of 8.0% for fiscal 2026, which was below the Union Budget's nominal forecast. Undetermined at this time.