More pain for Kenyans as cost of living soars

Food prices have gone up sharply. Analysts say rise in inflation and the weakening of the local currency seen over the last week, might result in high lending rates. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

The cost of living during the month of May went up driven by high electricity bills and sharp rise in price of food commodities.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that inflation rose to 7.3 per cent in May from 6.4 per cent in April, shooting past the Central Bank’s medium term target range of between 5-7 per cent due to rising food prices due to poor harvest, cost of energy and transportation. Analysts project further increases in price of food that could adversely affect the economy.