Kenya’s inflation rate has risen to 3.5pc in February from 3.3pc recorded in January this year according to latest data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Despite notable decline in prices in some indices during the period, the rise in general price level in February was driven by rising prices in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages category and Transport category which went up by 6.4pc and 0.7pc respectively when compared to the same period last year.
“Notably, prices of sugar, cooking oil (salad) and tomataoes went up by 3.2pc, 1.6pc and 1.3pc, respectively between
January 2025 and February 2025. During the same period, prices of wheat flourwhite and potatoes (Irish) dropped by 2.4pc and 1.8pc, respectively,” said KNBS.
On the other hand, Transport Index rose by 0.1pc between January 2025 and February 2025 on account of an increase in prices local flights by 4.8pc. However, prices of petrol and diesel remained the same between January 2025 and February 2025, the bureau said.
Nonetheless, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index increased by 0.1pc between January 2025 and February 2025. The increase was attributable to an increase in the price of gas/LPG by 0.6pc between January 2025 and February 2025.
“There was a decline in prices in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels category by 0.8pct over the one year period. These three divisions together account for over 57pc of the total weight across the 13 major expenditure categories,” said KNBS.
In February, consumers also experienced lower prices of 50kWh electricity and 200 kWh electricity which declined by 1.4pc and 1.2pc, respectively.
