Cost of living measure hits 8.04 pc in August

What you need to know:

Food takes up the largest share (36 per cent) of the basket of goods that is used to calculate inflation.
Food inflation rose to 13.57 per cent in August from 12.19 per cent a month earlier.

Inflation has increased to 8.04 per cent in August on rising food prices, moving above the government's preferred range.

The cost of living measure is up from 7.47 per cent in July, where it had moved within the government’s preferred band of 2.5 to 7.5 per cent for the first time since February.

The higher rate of inflation in the month that Kenya held General Elections on August 8 was attributed to a spike of 1.04 per cent in the food and non-alcoholic drinks index compared with July, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said in a statement today.

“The increase was mainly attributed to depressed supply especially in the second week of the month,” the bureau said.

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Food takes up the largest share (36 per cent) of the basket of goods that is used to calculate inflation, making it the main driver of the cost of living, followed by utilities such as rent, water, electricity, gas and fuels at 18 per cent.

Food inflation rose to 13.57 per cent in August from 12.19 per cent a month earlier.