Rising Food and Energy Cost Push Kenya’s August Inflation to 6.55%

Kenya’s annual inflation picked up to an 18-month high in August, largely driven by higher food and energy costs the statistics body said Tuesday.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said the rate accelerated to 6.55 per cent in August inflation from 6.44 per cent in July.

“This was mainly driven by rise in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic beverages (10.67 per cent); transport (7.93 per cent); and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (5.07 per cent) between August 2020 and August 202,” KNBS said in a statement.

In the period, prices of cabbages, spinach and oranges increased by 3.74, 3.06 and 2.44 per cent, respectively. In contrast, prices of potatoes and onions (leeks and bulbs) decreased by 0.48 per cent and 0.30 per cent, respectively.

On the other hand, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index, increased by 0.32 per cent between July 2021 and August 2021 mainly attributed to increasing in prices of cooking fuel and house rent in spite of the slight decrease in the price of electricity.

However, inflation expectations remain well-anchored within the target range while there is general optimism about economic growth prospects for 2021.