Cost of Living Eases in May due to Lower Food Prices
The cost of living in Kenya eased slightly in May to 5.49% compared to 6.58% in April on account of favourable weather conditions which resulted in lower food prices.
“The food and non-alcoholic drinks index decreased by 0.3% in May mainly due to favourable weather conditions which led to lower prices for some commodities,” the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director General Zachary Mwangi said in a statement on Friday.
However, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index increased by 0.61 percentage points due to the higher cost of rent and cooking fuels.
On Monday, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) when it held its benchmark lending rate at 9.0% it said there was a need to remain vigilant on inflation.
“The Committee noted that inflation expectations remained well anchored within the target range, but there is need to remain vigilant on possible spillovers of recent food and fuel price increases,” said Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Chairman, Monetary Policy Committee.
“Overall inflation is expected to remain within the target range in the near term largely due to expectations of lower food prices following improving weather conditions and lower electricity prices with the reduced usage of expensive power sources. Additionally, a timely release of maize stocks from the Strategic Grain Reserve will support the stability of food prices,” said the bank in a statement.
