Retail inflation for the month of November 2012 came in at 9.9 per cent, higher than the 9.75 per cent level recorded in the previous month.
The increase in retail inflation may prompt the Reserve Bank of India to keep the policy rates unchanged in its upcoming mid-quarter monetary policy review on December 18.
During the month under review, retail inflation in rural areas inched up to 9.97 per cent (9.9 per cent in October 2012).
In the case of urban areas, it was 9.69 per cent (9.46 per cent), official data released today showed.
The highest price rise in November was seen in the oil and fats segment, which saw an annual inflation of 17.67 per cent.
The other categories which saw a sharp increase in prices was sugar (16.97 per cent), pulses and products (14.19 per cent), vegetables (14.74 per cent) and cereals (12.35 per cent).