Kenya’s Inflation Rate Dips to 7.9% Despite Food & Transport Hike
In June, commodity prices increased at a slower rate than in May, with an inflation rate of 7.9% for the month ending today, June 30.
The rate of inflation is slightly less than the 8% recorded in May, but the same as the 7.9% recorded in April.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) June Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates that sugar, with a year-over-year inflation rate of 58.1%, 200kwh of electricity (53.4%), and maize grain (30.7%) were among the goods that kept inflation high in the country this month.
Sugar cost Sh204.76 per kilogram on average in June 2023, up from Sh129.55 per kilogram in June 2022.
In June, the price increased by more than Sh10 compared to the previous month, when it averaged Sh194.29 per unit.
Between June 2022 and June 2023, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased by 10.3%, while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased by 9.4%, according to KNBS.
Maize flour (14.5 percent), potatoes (19.5 percent), cabbages (17.1 percent), and carrots (30.2 percent) were among the food commodities whose prices remained elevated in June.
A kilogram of Irish potatoes cost Sh101.41 in June, up from Sh84.45 in the same month of the previous year, and a two-kilogram packet of maize flour cost Sh202.98, up from Sh177.98 in June of the previous year.
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May 2023, the price of maize flour increased by 10 shillings, from an average of 192.46 shillings.
In contrast, the prices of Sukuma Wiki and tomatoes fell by 2.3% and 0.5%, respectively, between June 2022 and June 2023.
In June 2023, the price of kerosene was 25.9% higher than in June 2022. The price of diesel increased by 19.2% and gasoline by 14.4%.
Among the non-food items that Kenyan households and businesses consume daily, fuel, electricity, cooking gas, and rent were the most expensive in June, according to KNBS data.
For instance, 200kwh of electricity, which cost Sh4,373.12 in June of last year, increased by 53.4% to Sh6,707.02 in June of this year. Additionally, the price of a liter of kerosene rose from Sh128.86 to Sh161.99.
In contrast, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices increased by 4.6% in June compared to the same month last year, while rent increased by 1.9% (one-bedroom house).
Food products dominated the list of those whose prices increased by significant margins in June compared to the previous month.
In June alone, the price of carrots increased by 9%, the price of onions by 7.3%, the price of tomatoes by 6.4%, the price of maize and maize flour by 5.5%, and the price of sugar by 5.4%.
Potatoes (6.1 percent), avocados (4.6 percent), and Sukuma wiki (2.7 percent) were among the food items whose prices fell in June compared to May.
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Electricity prices (200kwh) increased by 4.2% in June alone, while kerosene increased by 0.2% and rent increased by 0.1%.
“While the prices of diesel and gasoline decreased by 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, between May 2023 and June 2023, the transport index increased by 0.2 %. This was primarily due to the rise in fares for city buses and flights during that period, according to KNBS.
LPG prices decreased by 1.8%, Diesel by 0.7%, and gasoline by 0.4%.
Kenya’s Inflation Rate Dips to 7.9% Despite Food & Transport Hike
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