Cost of living hits 7-month high on higher food, energy prices

The cost of living has hit a seven-month high in April on expensive food and energy prices according to new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Inflation in April has been recorded by the statistics bureau at 6.47 per cent from 5.56 per cent in March, the highest rate of inflation since September 2021.

This is as food items covered in the food and non-alcoholic beverages category mark a 12.15 per cent increase in costs year over year while energy costs have surged by 5.47 over the same period.

Supply crunches for food items such as milk and wheat have underpinned the higher food prices while energy prices have recorded a lift-off from increased maximum prices for fuel in the period.

The higher fuel costs have impacted on both energy and transport costs with fares represented by the transport index jumping by 2.84 per cent.

A month-on-month comparison of basic food costs shows milk prices for packaged cow milk have jumped by 6.3 per cent to Ksh.55.27 for a 500 milliliters pack from Ksh.52.

Meanwhile a kilo of Irish potatoes now costs Ksh.88.40 on average from Ksh.80.23 in March while one litre of cooking fat (salad) costs Ksh.351.99 from Ksh.332.37 last month.

A two-kilogram pack of wheat flour meanwhile costs Ksh.160.70 from Ksh.151.43 while maize flour in the same package costs Ksh.134.79 on average from Ksh.129.77 in March.

Sugar has been the only main food commodity to decline in the window with a kilo averaging Ksh.130.46 from Ksh.131.94 previously.

On April 14, all three fuel products registered a Ksh.9.90 jump per litre, sending the cost of petrol, diesel and kerosene to the highest level on record.

On average, super petrol now costs Ksh.145.44 per litre, and Ksh.126.41 for diesel.

The cost pressures are expected to remain elevated across the year largely as a factor of external shocks to commodity pricing including LPG gas, cooking oil and fuel.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects inflation to peak at 7.2 per cent this year and settle at 7.1 per cent in 2023.

Inflation is nevertheless widely expected to hold within the government’s target of between 2.5 and 7.5 per cent.

The hold in the rate of inflation is partly attributed to the implementation of the fuel subsidy program which has spared Kenyans from greater fuel prices.