Due to increasing price of foodstuffs, halting two consecutive months of easing cost of living, inflation has therefore risen to 4.95 percent in October.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) director general, Zachary Mwangi in a statement he said that the prices of several foodstuffs were significantly higher during the month under review compared to the prices recorded during the previous months.
Prices of a kilogramme of loose grain maize flour, sifted maize flour and tomatoes increased by 5.82, 4.58 and 4.44 percent respectively.
Also due to the increase in prices of cigarettes, the index of alcohol beverages, tobacco and narcotics increased by 1.97 percent during the same period. A packet of cigarette was costing Sh147.47 on average, being 7.42 percent higher compared with Sh137.28 in September.
The October figure is within government’s target range of between 2.5 percent and 7.5 percent. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) expects inflation to remain within the target range in the near term.
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