Inflation declines to 6.4% in June as food, transport costs remain high

Kenya's annual inflation eased to 6.4 per cent in June, down from 6.7 per cent in May, a slight slowdown in the rising cost of living even as food and transport continued to drive household expenses.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that consumer prices in June were 6.4 per cent higher than in the same month last year, while prices rose by 0.2 per cent compared to May.

KNBS attributed the annual increase in inflation to higher prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels categories, which together account for more than 57 per cent of household expenditure.

"The price increase was primarily driven by a rise in prices of items in the food and non-alcoholic beverages (8.6 per cent), transport (16.1 per cent), and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (3.4 per cent) over the one year," KNBS said.

Food prices remained a major source of inflationary pressure, with the food index increasing by 8.6 per cent over the past year.

During the month under review, the prices of kale (sukuma wiki) rose by 4.0 per cent, spinach by 3.1 per cent, and loose maize grain by 1.2 per cent. However, consumers received some relief as the prices of tomatoes fell by 2.4 per cent, while beans and brown wheat flour also became slightly cheaper.

Transport costs remained the fastest-growing component of inflation, recording an annual increase of 16.1 per cent despite a decline in fuel prices during June.

According to KNBS, the average price of diesel in Nairobi dropped from Sh232.86 to Sh222.86 per litre, while petrol prices fell marginally from Sh214.25 to Sh214.03 per litre.

Electricity costs also eased during the month, with the average cost of 200 kilowatt-hours of electricity declining by about Sh59, while the price of 50 kilowatt-hours also fell, helping moderate inflation in the housing category.

Despite the overall slowdown in inflation, prices of several essential household commodities continued to rise. Cooking oil, sugar, milk, cabbage and detergents all recorded price increases during the month.

The report also showed that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, eased slightly to 3.1 per cent in June from 3.2 per cent in May.

Non-core inflation stood at 15.1 per cent, underscoring continued volatility in food and energy-related costs.

KNBS said food remained the single largest contributor to overall inflation, accounting for 2.5 percentage points, followed by transport at 1.55 percentage points.