Inflation hit a 5-month high of 3.5 percent in February on rising food prices

By Steve UMIDHA

Kenya’s inflation hit a five-month high of 3.5 percent in February on rising costs of food and transportation. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows overall inflation has grown for the last five consecutive months even as the rate remains below the mid-point target of five percent.

Notably, prices of sugar, cooking oil (salad) and tomataoes went up by 3.2pc, 1.6pc and 1.3pc, respectively between January 2025 and February 2025. During the same period, prices of wheat flourwhite and potatoes (Irish) dropped by 2.4pc and 1.8pc, respectively,” said KNBS.

In February, consumers also experienced lower prices of 50kWh electricity and 200 kWh electricity which declined by 1.4pc and 1.2pc, respectively.

“There was a decline in prices in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and other fuels category by 0.8pct over the one year period. These three divisions together account for over 57pc of the total weight across the 13 major expenditure categories,” said KNBS.