Kenya’s consumer price index increased to 6.47 percent in April from 5.56 percent in March of 2022 driven by high food prices.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data also showed that a surge in fuel costs pushed the transport index by 6.88 percent while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels rose by 5.47 percent between April 2021 and April 2022.
The prices of commodities under the food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.03 percent with the prices of potatoes rising by 10 percent, wheat flour and milk rising by 6.12 and 6.29 percent respectively.
“During the same period, prices of sugar decreased by 1.12 percent. Prices of food items in April 2022 were relatively high compared with prices of food items recorded in April 2021,” KNBS said.
“Prices of food items in April 2022 were relatively high compared with prices of food items recorded in April 2021. Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Equipment Index increased by 0.72 percent between March 2022 and April 2022. This was due to an increase in prices of laundry/bar soap and detergents, among other items.” KNBS managing director Macdonald Obudho in a statement.
NCBA Market Research Analysts raised their inflation expectation for the year to 6.3 percent from its earlier forecast of 5.4 percent.
“The upside stems from the recent surge in food and fuel prices, pressure that we expect will broaden to other commodities. Higher inflation will hurt the purchasing power of consumers, potentially hurting overall growth. The pressure, if persistent may compel the central bank to tighten financial conditions in coming months,” they noted.
Subsequently, the World Bank’s Africa Pulse report revealed that the country’s year-on-year food inflation had increased by 27 percent, the fourth-highest in Sub-Saharan Africa on account of rising global commodity prices.
“Among countries in the region with monthly food inflation data available from March 2021 to February 2022, more than four out of five countries experienced year-on-year food inflation that exceeds 5 percent— while nearly half of them experienced two-digit food inflation. Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, and Kenya have the highest rates of food inflation in the region as of February 2022,” part of the report reads.
“Consequently, within African economies, the impact of rising food prices will affect poorer households more than wealthier ones, as the share of food expenditures in the budget of the former is higher.”
Although elevated, the inflation rate is still consistent with the central bank’s objective of 2.5 to 7.5 percent in Kenya the World Bank notes.
The National Treasury further said they will continue to safeguard macroeconomic stability by ensuring inflation remains within the Government target range while interest rates remain stable to support growth in private sector credit.
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