In a positive surprise for policymakers, whose focus remains on controlling inflation, the provisional annual inflation rate based on all India general Consumer Price Index (CPI) (Combined) for December 2013 on point to point basis (December 2013 over December 2012, eased more than the street's expectation, at 9.87%, as compared to 11.24%, which was revised to 11.16%, for the previous month of November 2013. The corresponding provisional inflation rates for rural and urban areas for December 2013 are 10.49% and 9.11% respectively
