Inflation for December rose to 5.82% up from November’s 5.6% as the country records an increase in food prices. Statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that Food and Transport costs rose significantly between November and December.
SEE ALSO: High Food Prices Push November Inflation Rate to 5.6 %
Average CPI rose from 202.94 in November to 204.77 in December.
Consumer Price Indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 1.46% whereas transport rose by 2.10% in the last month. Moreover, CPI for food and non-alcoholic beverages jumped by 10.02% between 2018 and 2019.
Vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, and kales recorded the highest rise in prices, despite heavy rainfalls. For example, prices of spinach, tomatoes, and kales rose by 9.1%, 7.78%, and 5.59% respectively in December compared to November. In December, a kilo of Spinach sold for Ksh 43.43, tomatoes for KSh 103.22 and Kales for KSh 39.40.
Sugar prices rose as well, with a kilo retailing at KSh 108.48 in December from KSh 104.19 in November.
On the other hand, prices of fruits like a kilo of mango fell by 3.44% whereas milk prices fell by 0.67%.
The transport index rose by 2.1% despite decreasing pump prices, mainly due to fare hikes in the festive season.
Nevertheless, the price of electricity dropped by 3.25% to KSh 778.02 for every 50kWh.
Read Also: Cost of Goods Rises as East Africa Faces Region-Wide Inflation
