Food inflation rose to 16.49 per cent for the week ended May 8, mainly due to high prices of vegetables and fruits.

Inflation rose by 0.05 per cent from 16.44 per cent in the previous week.

On a weekly basis, onions turned expensive by 5.73 per cent, potatoes by 0.95 per cent, fruits by 0.41 per cent and vegetables by 2.41 per cent while prices of urad and moong rose by two per cent each.

On an annual basis, pulses turned costlier by 33.65 per cent and fruits by 17 per cent.

Food inflation had breached the 20 per cent-mark in December.

During the week, prices of non-food articles declined by 0.35 per cent, as raw rubber prices sank 7 per cent and linseed fell 2 per cent.

Fuel prices remained steady over the week, but rose 12.33 per cent on an annual basis.