Inflation rises to 4-month high on costlier fuel, charcoal

Higher fuel and charcoal prices raised the cost of living measure to a four-month high in June, despite an ease in food and electricity bills.

Inflation hit 4.28 per cent from 3.95 per cent the previous month, marking the second monthly increase, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

KNBS said that housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ index rose 0.52 per cent in June, lifted by increases in prices of kerosene and charcoal.

During the same month, the transport index climbed 0.37 per cent due to an upsurge in the pump price of petrol and diesel.

Charcoal prices continued rising and shot two per cent to Sh138 per four-kilo tin. This is as a result of the recent logging ban.

On the flipside, drops in electricity and food prices handed households a reprieve and helped slow down inflation rate rise.

“Between May and June, food and non-alcoholic drinks’ index decreased by 2.20 per cent. This was due to decrease in prices of some foodstuffs outweighing increases recorded in respect of others,” the KNBS said in a statement.

Green maize

Green maize recorded the sharpest price drop by a quarter to Sh32 per Cobb, followed by onions which fell 18 per cent to Sh147 a kilo while Irish potatoes eased 15 per cent to Sh85 a kilo.

Other food items that dropped include ripe bananas, pawpaw and loose maize grain. The drops were, however, not enough to prevent the inflation uptick.

Power bills also eased in June as they did a month earlier.

Homes that consumed 200-kilowatt hours (kWh) in June paid Sh4,106, a four per cent drop from the previous month.

Users of 50 units of electricity monthly paid seven per cent lower in June at Sh691.

At 4.28 per cent, the June inflation is within the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) preferred range of between 2.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent.

The rate has stayed within the 4/5-year low range since last November.