According to the latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the inflation rate dropped to 4.04 per cent in August 2018 compared to 4.35 per cent in July 2018. On the other hand, Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.31 per cent from 191.59 in July to 192.18 in August.
KNBS carried out the survey during the third and fourth weeks of August and the prices were collected from Nairobi and 13 urban centres in the country.
The Statistics
The price of 500 milliliters of fresh milk packets increased from Sh60.17 in July to Sh60.81 in August 2018 while a kilogram of sugar increased from Sh137.11 in July to Sh147.33 August. In addition, the price of one kilogram loose maize flour decreased from Sh57.27 in July to Sh45.32 in August. The price of 200KWh of electricity increased from Sh4,122.26 in July to Sh4,392.82 in August.
“Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index, increased by 2.56 per cent in August 2018 compared to 0.12 per cent recorded in July 2018. This was mainly attributed to a significant increase in prices of electricity which rose by 52.8 per cent and 6.6 per cent for 50 and 200 KWh respectively. The year on year inflation for the group similarly increased significantly by 16.7 per cent over the period,” the KNBS report reads.
During the same period, the transport index surged 0.87 per cent due to the increased cost of petrol “which
outweighed decrease in price of diesel.”
The year on year food inflation dropped 0.53 per cent in July to negative 1.15 per cent in August. The drop was attributed to a decrease in the price of maize grains.
