Kenya’s inflation rate has fallen to 9.1% in December, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), down from 9.5% in November.
The decrease is the second consecutive monthly decline since February 2022 and is largely due to the increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.
Diesel prices have risen 46.1% in the last year, while maize grain prices have risen 37.7%.
According to the KNBS, the country’s economic growth fell to 4.7% year on year in the third quarter of 2022, down from 9.3% in the same time in 2021.
Accommodation and food services, as well as wholesale and retail commerce, contributed to the expansion, while agriculture, forestry, and fishing, as well as mining and quarrying, decreased marginally. Treasury predicts a 5.3% growth in 2022 and 6% growth in 2023.
“Most sectors posted decelerated growths owing to the significantly high growth rates recorded in the third quarter of 2021 that signified recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the KNBS.
Kenya’s current account deficit increased by 5.5% in the third quarter of 2022, reaching KES 193.4 billion, up from KES 183.4 billion in the same period of 2021.
In response to persistent inflation, Kenya’s central bank boosted its benchmark lending rate by half a point to 8.75% last month, indicating that additional tightening was possible. The country is seeing a jump in basic commodity costs, which has been worsened by the worst drought in four decades.