Retail inflation up 5.61%

New Delhi: As prices of pulses continued to pinch consumers, India's annual retail inflation moved up further to 5.61 percent in December from 5.41 percent during the month before, official data released on Tuesday showed.

According to the numbers on consumer price index of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the annual rate of inflation, December-on-December, was distinctly higher in rural areas at 6.32 percent against 4.73 percent in the cities and towns.

The retail food inflation during the month under review was 6.4 percent for India as a whole, as against 6.07 percent in the month before. In the rural and urban areas, the annual inflation rates for food items were 6.41 percent and 6.31 percent, respectively.