Kenya’s annual inflation bucked months of easing in August on a fresh increase in the prices of food.
Data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed that the year-on-year consumer price index rose 4.4 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July.
Average food prices rose 5.3 percent year-on-year in August but fell a marginal 0.7 percent compared with July, the data shows.
“Prices of potatoes (Irish), oranges and mangoes increased by 7.1, 3.2 and 2.6 percent, respectively between July and August,” KNBS Managing Director Macdonald Obudho said in a statement.
Households paid an average of Sh130.57 for a kilogramme of Irish potatoes, a 51.9 percent surge compared with Sh85.95 in August 2023.
The August inflation rate reversed several months of easing in the measure of increase in the cost of goods and services over the previous year.
The 4.3 percent inflation rate in July was the slowest in 46 months since September 2020 when it stood at 4.2 percent, raising hopes of cost relief for households.
The Kenyan government targets an inflation rate of between 2.5 percent and 7.5 percent in the medium term.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Kenya in its last review on August 6 cut its indicative policy lending rate to 12.75 percent, down from 13 percent, citing easing inflation and a stable shilling.
