The cost of living eased slightly in October as strict Covid-19 measures were lifted and transport costs dropped.
The monthly inflation data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows the overall rate of inflation in October was 6.45 per cent down from 6.91 in September.
In the latest figures, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the percentage change in the price of a basket of goods and services consumed by households, increased by 0.51 per cent to 116.674 in October 2021.
The month-to-month Food and Non-Alcoholic Drinks’ Index increased by 1.11 per cent between September 2021 and October 2021.
This was mainly attributed to increase in the price of some food items, which outweighed the decrease in others.
Despite the slight easing, KNBS noted an increase in prices of commodities under: food and non-alcoholic beverages (10.60 per cent); transport (8.15 per cent); and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (5.80 per cent) between October 2020 and October 2021.
In the data, prices of tomatoes, oranges and sugar increased by 3.53, 3.12 and 2.50 per cent, respectively.
The price of a kilo of tomatoes increased from Sh99.50 in September to Sh103.01 in October.
On the other hand, prices of spinach, beans and potatoes decreased by 2.73, 0.45 and 0.36 per cent, respectively.
A kilo of spinach went for Sh63.70 in October from Sh65.49 in Septembet.
“Overall, food prices in October 2021 were relatively higher compared with foods prices recorded in October 2020,” said KNBS.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index, increased by 0.67 per cent between September 2021 and October 2021.
This was mainly attributed to increase in prices of cooking gas (LPG), electricity and house rent.
During the same period, prices of kerosene/paraffin decreased by 6.51 per cent.
The Transport Index decreased by 0.35 per cent mainly due to a drop in the price of petrol and diesel, which went down by 3.69 per cent and 4.29 per cent, respectively between September and October 2021.
