The headline retail inflation for December is estimated to stay on the upward trajectory after falling to a series low in October due to adverse base effects in food prices and sequential firmness in precious metals, economists said. The CPI inflation is estimated to be 1.45% year-on-year in December, up from 0.71% in November and 0.25% in October, given the median of an FE poll of economists. This would mean the key inflation figure might have stayed below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 4% for the 11th consecutive month and below the lower end of the central bank’s target range of 2-6% for the fourth straight month.