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Kenya’s consumer inflation edged up slightly in October on the back of higher prices of food and alcoholic beverages.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 4.95 percent in October 2019 from 3.83 percent, according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.28 percent, after decreasing 0.11 percent in the previous month. “Prices of several foodstuffs were significantly higher during the month under review compared to the prices recorded during the previous month,” KNBS director-general Zachary Mwangi said in a statement.
KNBS said the index of the alcohol, tobacco and narcotics was the highest riser, going up by 1.97 percent, due to an increase in prices of cigarettes, following a hike of excise tax.
Other commodities that influenced the jump in inflation include several foodstuffs, among them maize grain-loose, maize grain-sifted and tomatoes whose indices increased by 5.82, 4.58, 4.44 percent respectively. Currently, maize floor is retailing at Sh145, up from Sh90 earlier this year.
Headline inflation is within the government target range of 5.0%. The year on year food and nonalcoholic drinks inflation increased from 6.31 percent in September 2019 to 8.74 in October.
