The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) released updates on average retail prices for selected commodities on Thursday, October 31. The report reveals that cooking oil and electricity are among the items experiencing price increases.
In October, the cost of cooking oil (1 liter) rose by 1 percent, while electricity prices increased by 0.3 percent for 50 kilowatts and by 0.2 percent for 200 kilowatts.
The prices of fresh produce also saw significant changes, with 1 kg of mangoes surging by 9.9 percent. Carrots and oranges experienced increases of 5.7 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. Additionally, the price of 1 kg of tomatoes rose by 3.1 percent, and beef with bones saw a hike of 1.7 percent.
Conversely, the prices of sifted maize flour (2 kg) and sugar decreased by 1.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively. Diesel prices dropped by 2 percent, while cooking gas (LPG, 13 kg) fell by 0.4 percent. Both petrol and kerosene also saw a decline of 2 percent.
The price of 1 kg of kale (sukuma wiki) decreased by 1.3 percent, and 2 kg of white wheat flour and fortified maize flour fell by 1.7 percent.
KNBS collects prices from selected retail outlets across 50 data collection zones, with 14 located in Nairobi City County and 36 in other urban areas. The Nairobi zones include outlets in lower-income, middle-income, and upper-income areas.
The overall year-on-year inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 2.7 percent in October 2024, a decrease from the 3.6 percent recorded in September. The month-to-month inflation rate was 0.2 percent in October 2024.
According to KNBS, the annual inflation was driven primarily by changes in prices within the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) divisions.
The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index rose by 4.3 percent over the past year, while the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels Index increased by 0.4 percent.
In contrast, the Transport Index decreased by 1.3 percent.
