The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and international interest.

Standard Group Plc HQ Office,
The Standard Group Center,Mombasa Road.
P.O Box 30080-00100,Nairobi, Kenya.
Telephone number: 0203222111, 0719012111
Email: [email protected]

NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Nairobian

Kenya's March inflation rises to 4.35 per cent, says KNBS

Business

By Fredrick Obura | Mar 29, 2019

NAIROBI, KENYA: March inflation rose to 4.35 percent from to 4.14 percent a month earlier, due to rising food prices, the statistics office said on Friday.

On a month-on-month basis, inflation was 1.60 percent. The food and non-alcoholic index rose 3.30 percent month-on-month, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

Between February and March, food and non-alcoholic drinks index increased by 3.30 per cent. KNBS says the increase was mainly due to the prevailing drought conditions causing the costs of some foodstuffs to be higher than in February.

“However, prices of some food items were lower in March 2019 compared to March 2018,” says KNBS.

Keep Reading business

For instance, maize grain recorded a drop of 33.81 per cent from Sh62.78 per kilogram in March 2018 to Sh 41.56 in March 2019. Similarly, the prices of sifted maize flour, sugar and tomatoes were lower by 30.55, 10.57 and 10.80 per cent, respectively.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index, decreased by 0.06 per cent in March compared to February 2019. This resulted from a lower cost of electricity, which outweighed an increase in house rents and cooking fuels.

The transport index increased by 0.42 per cent, mainly as a result of an increase in pump prices of petrol and diesel

Drop in most food commodities helped push down the cost of living during the month of February. The data from the consumer price index from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicated overall inflation for February went down 0.82 per cent from January to settle at 4.14 per cent on the back of falling food prices.

“The cost of several foodstuffs in February 2019 was much lower compared to the same period of the previous year,” said KNBS in a statement.

“For instance, maize grain recorded a drop of 41.0 per cent from Sh60.37 per kilogramme in February 2018 to Sh35.63 in February 2019. Similarly, the prices of sifted maize flour, spinach and tomatoes declined by 30.68 per cent, 20.66 per cent and 16.63 per cent, respectively.”