Kenya’s Inflation Eases To 6.7pc In August

Kenya’s month-on-month inflation in August slowed 0.6 per cent to 6.7 per cent amid a sharp fall in food prices, new data has revealed.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows the country’s inflation fell from 7.3 per cent in July.

Kenya’s preferred inflation band is of 2.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the medium term.

This is the second time the country’s monthly inflation has fallen between the government-recommended range since May 2022.

“Prices of most food products dropped during the period. In particular, the prices of maize grain-loose, maize flour-loose, fortified maize flour, potatoes and tomatoes decreased by 8.2, 7.3, 6.1 and 3.5 per cent, respectively, between July 2023 and August 2023,” KNBS Director General (DG) Macdonald Obudho said in a statement.

However, during the same period, the price of mangoes increased by 6.1 per cent.

“The Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics index rose by 0.7 per cent between July 2023 and August 2023. This was mainly on account of a 0.7 per cent increase in prices of spirits during the period,” added Obudho.

The price of a kilo of cabbage during the review period eased to Ksh52.28 from Ksh53.67 in July.

The same was reflected in one kilogramme of Irish potatoes as it dropped from Ksh89.07 in July to Ksh85.95 in August 2023.

The Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics index rose by 0.7 per cent between July 2023 and August 2023 on account of a 0.7 per cent increase in prices of spirits during the period.

“Whereas the prices of petrol and diesel remained unchanged between July 2023 and August 2023, the Transport Index went up by 0.3 per cent during the period, mainly due to increase in prices of country bus fares for some routes,” noted KNBS Director General.