Kenya’s inflation rose to 6.58 per cent in April 2019 from 4.4 per cent in the previous month. It is the highest inflation rate since September 2017 and was mainly driven by an increase in food prices and fuel prices.
“For instance, sifted maize flour, Kales (sukuma wiki), potatoes, loose maize grain and flour and tomatoes recorded increases of 29.82, 25.30, 19.27, 26.14, 15.90 and 15.31, per cent, respectively, in April compared to March 2019,these six items alone account for 6.25 percent of the CPI weight,” KNBS stated.
Data from KNBS, however, showed that prices of sugar and some other food items were lower in April 2019 than in March 2019.
Due to an increase in pump prices of petrol and diesel, transport Index increased by 0.86 per cent while the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index, increased by 0.93 per cent in April compared to March 2019 mainly due to higher cost of some house rents and electricity.
