Kenya’s annual consumer inflation increased for the fourth consecutive month, reaching 3.5% in February from 3.3% in January, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
This marks a five-month high. The primary driver was a rise in food prices, with the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index increasing by 0.6% between January and February and showing a 6.4% annual increase.
“This is an indication that the general price level in February 2025 was 3.5% higher than it was in February 2024,” stated KNBS.
Notably, sugar, cooking oil (salad), and tomatoes saw price increases of 3.2%, 1.6%, and 1.3%, respectively, while wheat flour (white) and potatoes (Irish) experienced declines of 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remained stable at 2.0%. Non-core inflation rose to 8.2% in February from 7.1% in January.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels index saw a marginal increase, with LPG prices rising and electricity prices slightly decreasing.
“There was a decline in prices in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels category by 0.8pct over the one year period. These three divisions together account for over 57pc of the total weight across the 13 major expenditure categories,” said KNBS.
This inflation trend occurred after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lowered its benchmark interest rate to 10.75% on February 5th, aiming to stimulate lending and economic growth.
The CBK projects inflation to remain within its target range of 2.5%–7.5% in the near term.
