Kenya’s annual inflation rose to 5.9% in March, the highest rate in 10 months, from 5.8% in February. The inflation rate maintained an upward trend mainly due to the increase in the price of fuel and some food items during that period. According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya, fuel price went up by 15.8% while the price of food items rose 6.7%. Non-fuel and non-food prices increased by 2.3%.
Consumer Price Index, which measures what buyers pay for everyday items like food and clothing, increased by 0.4% to 113.81 in March from 113.37 in February.
An increase in the price of fuel led to a 0.59% month on month rise in the housing, water, electricity and other fuels’ index. The transport index went up by 1.49% from February to March.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics collects data on retail prices of a basket of household consumption goods and services on the second and third week of the month and uses the data to generate the consumer price indices and inflation rates.
