Inflation hits new high of 7.1pc in May
By Herald Aloo, June 1, 2022
Overall inflation soared to 7.1 per cent in May from 6.47 in April, the highest level witnessed in two years.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) attributed this to price surge of basic commodities such as maize flour, cooking oil and milk last month. This is 0.4 per cent shy of the upper bound of 7.5 percent inflation rate recommended by the Central Bank of Kenya. Monthly inflation rate hit 7.15 per cent in March 2020.
“There was a notable increase in prices of food items in May 2022, compared with the prices recorded in May 2021,” KNBS Director General Macdonald Obudho said.
For instance, the price of 2 kg of fortified maize flour increased by 6.9 per cent to average at Sh147.5 in May compared to Sh138.1 in April.
Stagnant income
In the same period under review, cooking fat and cooking oil(salad) and fresh packeted cow milk increased by 6.1 5.3 and 3.7 per cent in May 2022, respectively, a sign of steady pressure on the household budget amid stagnant income.
There was, however, a reprieve as prices of kale (sukuma wiki), spinach and cabbages dropped by 5.0, 4.1 and 4.0 per cent, respectively.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ Index, increased by 0.6 per cent between April 2022 and May 2022.
During this period, the price of kerosene rose by 4.8 per cent to average at Sh119 per litre.
Increase in diesel and petrol prices which averaged at Sh131.9 and Sh150.9 per litre, respectively, had a knock-on effect in the cost of transportation. Transport Index increased by 0.8 per cent during the review period.
The increase in the cost of living is set to deliver pain to the low-income earners, especially in Nairobi, compared to the middle and upper class population.
KNBS data shows that cost of living among Nairobi’s low-income earners increased most to 5.9 per cent, compared to 4.05 per cent and 3.77 per cent for middle-income earners and upper-income earners respectively, highlighting the impact of broadening income gap.