Kenya: Inflation continues to slide in February

Consumer prices rose 0.82% over the previous month in February, following a 0.35% month-on-month increase in January. The upturn was led by higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, followed by a rise in prices for alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics. On the flip side, transport was the only category to see a decline in prices, while the cost of education remained stable from the previous month.

Inflation continued to slide in February, falling to 4.1% from 4.7% in January, thus remaining within the Central Bank’s medium-target range of 2.5%–7.5%. Easing costs for food items and a stronger shilling drove the downturn in prices, countering elevated prices for fuel. Meanwhile, annual average inflation remained at 4.7% in February.

Kenya Inflation Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 5.6% in 2019, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2020, the panel sees inflation averaging 5.8%.