Kenya: Inflation rises in July from June
Latest reading: Consumer prices increased 6.5% on a year-on-year basis in July, following a 6.4% rise in the previous month.
Relative to the previous month’s figures, there were higher price pressures for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+9.0% on a year-on-year basis vs +8.6% in June) and clothing (+2.2% vs +2.0% in June). In contrast, there were milder price pressures for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+3.2% vs +3.4% in June) and transportation (+15.6% vs +16.1% in June).
Lastly, consumer prices were up 0.19% in July on a month-on-month basis, following a 0.23% increase in the prior month.
Panelist insight: EIU analysts commented on the inflation outlook:
“We expect relatively small monthly increases in prices in the remainder of the year, but given base effects, the annual average increase in prices will still reach 5.7% in 2026, up from 4.1% in 2025. […] Our forecast of relatively firm inflation assumes that the central bank will tolerate a slightly above-target level of inflation in the interests of relatively rapid GDP growth, which will help the government to rein in its fiscal deficit.”