Prices of most vegetables climbed during the month as monsoon downpours delayed harvests and disrupted supplies.
If the forecast is realized, March will be the eighth month in a row with below-target inflation, giving the RBI room to squeeze in another rate cut this year
According to the Statistics Ministry, consumer prices rose 5.21 per cent in December from a year earlier
The December inflation data is due to be released on Friday
The Reuters latest survey found 52 of 54 economists expected the RBI to hold the repo rate at 6.0 percent on Dec 6