Kenya’s annual Inflation eased slightly to 6.27% in March from 6.86% in February despite slight increases in the prices of basic foods and energy costs, the statistics body said on Monday.
Zachary Mwangi, the acting Director-General of Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 145.95 in February to 146.61 in March.
This is based on data gathered from 13 towns across Kenya and processed in 25 centres.
The cost of entertainment showed the highest increase at 12.63% followed by the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks while the cost of mobile phone communication decreased the most.
Based on the new data, Kenyans are having to pay more for beef with bones, which showed the highest price increment.
The increment in the price of beef is an indication that drought in pastoralist areas is already reflecting on the demand and supply of cattle for beef.
However, good rains in some areas showed a marked drop in the cost of electricity. The unit cost of electricity dropped by 19% during the month.
Overall, the cost of food items increased by 0.56% because while other foodstuff rose in price, others dropped due to the start of long rainy seasons in some food basket regions.
The average consumer’s pocket has been saved by the positive adjustments in the cost of electricity. There was also the stability in the local forex markets which means electricity consumers had to pay little for power generation.
Kenyan consumers often have to pay for currency fluctuations because the crude oil used to generate power is passed on to consumers in electricity bills.
The cost of heavy fuels also reduced but this did not pass to lower commuter prices because local city administration increased the cost of parking vehicles, which means a 0.3% saving on diesel was lost.
