Overall inflation stays below 2%; protein inflation rises

Protein inflation remains high

• Inflation remained under 2% in December despite a 1.3% price increase.
• 2025 inflation average at 2.2 percent, lowest since 2014
• Protein and jewellery prices kept core inflation elevated

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Inflation stayed below 2 percent in December, even as prices rose at the fastest pace of 1.3 percent. For 2025, the average inflation of 2.2 percent was the slowest since the start of the series in 2014.

While inflation has remained below 2 percent for four consecutive months, price pressures have remained uneven. Sequentially, prices were up 0.1 percent, with 4.9 percent of the index showing increases, the highest share in four months. Chief among them were protein items such as meat, eggs, and milk, which were at 12-, 11- and 4-month highs.

Meanwhile, jewellery inflation kept core inflation at a 28-month high, even as other categories such as health, transport, household services were at multi-year lows.

Here are five charts that explain India’s last inflation print of the old series:

Inflation rises to a 3-month high

2025 average lowest in 12 years

But not all items recorded a decline

Protein inflation remains high

Gold and silver keep core inflation high