Kenya’s inflation accelerated to a new two-year record of 7.1 per cent in May as the cost of food and beverages continues to rise sharply partly affected by the war in Ukraine which has stoked energy and food prices.
The inflation — a measure of annual changes in the cost of living – rose from 6.47 per cent in April, driven mainly by food, transport and fuel prices, according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
“The rise in Kenya’s inflation was mainly due to increase in prices of commodities under; food and non-alcoholic beverages (12.4 percent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (7.9 percent); transport (6.4 percent) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (6.0 percent),” KNBS in their report.
The average prices of key foodstuffs shot up compared to April, with a 2kg packet of sifted maize flour rising 6.9 per cent to sell at Sh147.57 in May, a litre of cooking oil was up 5.3 per cent to Sh370.71, while a 500ml packet of milk sold at Sh57.30, up 3.7 per cent.
During the same period, prices of kale (sukuma wiki), spinach, and cabbages dropped by 5.0, 4.1, and 4.0 per cent, respectively. The upward review of petrol and diesel prices also saw the transport index rise by 0.8 per cent during the period.
KNBS also noted that the housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index, increased by 0.6 per cent between April 2022 and May 2022.
Read also; Kenya’s Inflation Hits a 7 month High of 6.47% in April.