The Economic Cycle Research Institute's Future Inflation Gauge, which is designed to anticipate cyclical swings in the rate of inflation, rose to 116.6 last month from a revised 115.2 in October, the research group said.
"Underlying inflationary pressures remain in a cyclical upswing, although they are not rising as rapidly as they were last fall," ECRI said in a statement.
The index's annualized growth rate, which smooths out monthly fluctuations, fell to 21.2 percent in December from 21.7 percent in November.