February Records a Drop in Inflation as Food Prices Ease

The inflation rate for February 2024 reportedly dropped to 6.3 percent, compared to 6.9 percent in January, following consecutive declines in November and December at 6.8 and 6.6 percent, respectively.

On Thursday, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reported in a press release that the price changes in food, energy, and transport, constituting approximately 57 percent of household budgets, were the primary contributors to the inflation levels.

According to KNBS, prices in commodities such as housing, water, and electricity decreased by 0.8 percent.

This decrease was attributed to a 9.3 percent drop in the prices of 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and an 11 percent reduction in the prices of 50 kWh of electricity. Additionally, the price of a liter of kerosene dropped by 0.5 percent during the same period.

While gas prices rose by 4.3 percent, petrol and diesel prices decreased by 0.5 percent between January 2024 and February 2024.

The Transport Index increased by 0.2 percent during the same period.

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index

The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increased by 0.3 percent between January 2024 and February 2024.

“The rise in food inflation is mainly attributed to the increase in prices of some food items, which outweighed the decrease in prices of other foodstuffs,” KNBS said

Between January 2024 and February 2024, prices of food experienced the following drops: a kilogram of beans (0.6%), 2 kilograms of maize flour (1.0%), fortified maize flour (1.5%), 1 kilogram of maize flour-loose (1.6%), 1 kilogram of loose maize grain (3.4%), sugar (4.6%), and tomatoes (5.7%).

However, during the same period, prices of spinach, sukuma wiki, and wheat flour-white increased by 3.9, 3.4, and 2.6 percent, respectively.

Year-on-year, between February 2023 and February 2024, prices of commodities under transport increased by 10.8%, while those under housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased by 8.4%, and food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 6.9%.

Relief for consumers is also anticipated due to the appreciating shilling, which, for the past three weeks, has continued to gain against the US dollar, attributed to eased debt pressure.

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