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Lower electricity and petroleum prices hold down inflation at 3.8 pc
A fuel attendant fills up a vehicle at a petrol station. The price per litre of diesel and petrol declined by 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent respectively to Sh163.89 and Sh178.19 in the same period.
Kenya’s inflation remained unchanged in June at 3.8 percent aided by a drop in the cost of key household essentials including electricity, cooking gas and kerosene, even as that of most food items rose substantially.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the cost of 200 kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity dropped by 8.2 percent to an average of Sh5,738.5 in June compared to the same month last year.
The price per litre of diesel and petrol declined by 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent respectively to Sh163.89 and Sh178.19 in the same period.
Other commodities whose costs fell include kerosene and liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Petroleum products are among the most widely used goods in households, industries, electricity production and transport or logistics.
A stronger shilling has contributed to the decline in the cost of electricity and imported petroleum products.
The prices of most food items, meanwhile, rose by double digits, offsetting the impact of the lower costs of electricity and petroleum goods.
The cost of beef with bones jumped 9.3 percent year-on-year to an average of Sh690.15 per kilogramme while that of sukuma wiki (kales) rose nine percent to Sh90.42 per kilogramme.
The price of carrots increased the most by 20.6 percent to Sh128.97 per kilogramme. The cost of sifted maize flour, the country's staple food, jumped 18.8 percent to Sh160.22 per kilogramme.
This closely tracked the price of loose maize grain, which went up by 15.1 percent to Sh70.4 per kilogramme. The cost of most food items had risen even compared to the previous month (May), indicating more pressure on low-income households that spent most of their resources on food.
Increased food production may help to mitigate the price rally in the coming months. A May survey by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) found that most farmers are intent on expanding their production.
“Most sampled farmers in the May 2025 survey were optimistic that output of most food crops was generally expected to increase, largely driven by favourable March-May 2025 rainfall outcomes in most regions and expected continuation of government measures geared towards improving agricultural productivity, particularly those targeting farm inputs such as the subsidised fertiliser programme,” CBK said in the survey.
Kenya's inflation rate has stayed below the five percent mark since July last year on the back of a stronger shilling and the previously high interest rates signalled by the CBK.
The strengthening of the local currency to stabilise at Sh129 for 10 months now has particularly helped to tame the cost of imported goods.
