{
  "id": 5073315,
  "title": "KNBS Consumer Price Index: Why Kenya’s inflation is becoming harder to escape",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/knbs-consumer-price-index-why-kenyas-inflation-is-becoming-harder-to",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-02T11:19:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "People Daily Kenya",
    "slug": "people-daily-kenya",
    "url": "https://peopledaily.digital/business/knbs-consumer-price-index-why-kenyas-inflation-is-becoming-harder-to-escape"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kenya's inflation challenge extends beyond just food and fuel price volatility, with underlying price pressures contributing to core inflation, which rose to 3.4% in August, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). This data provides a more comprehensive view of the nation's rising cost of living. While food and transport continue to be significant drivers of inflation, prices in more stable sectors are also increasing, suggesting that households may still face pressure even when some food and fuel prices decrease. Core inflation, which measures less volatile commodities like manufactured food, health services, education, and ICT, increased to 3.4% in August, up from 3.2% in July. Non-core inflation, which includes more volatile items, stood at 14.7% in August, down from 15.0% in July. Core inflation accounted for 3.9 percentage points of the overall 6.6% headline inflation rate, compared to 2.7 percentage points from non-core inflation, indicating that more than half of the headline inflation came from core components. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages were the largest individual contributors, adding 2.6 percentage points to overall inflation, followed by Transport with 1.5 percentage points and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels with 0.6 points. The annual inflation rate remains at 6.6%, with food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels accounting for over 57% of total weight across major expenditure categories. However, monthly price movements highlight that the headline inflation figure does not capture the full story. For instance, the price of 2kg sifted maize flour fell 2.7% between July and August, and tomatoes decreased by 2.2%. Diesel prices also dropped 2.2%, from Ksh224.04 to Ksh219.04 per liter. Despite these declines, other prices rose, such as toilet paper and tissue paper (1.3%), detergents (0.8%), body lotion (0.6%), and mobile money transfer charges (1.5%). Transport remains a significant source of inflationary pressure, with annual inflation at 15.7% in August, driven by increased local flight fares (4.1%) and higher inter-town bus and matatu fares (2.1%). The Consumer Price Index rose from 155.20 in July to 155.85 in August, producing monthly inflation of 0.4%. KNBS's core inflation measure, compiled from less volatile commodities, points to a dual-speed inflation scenario in Kenya: volatile costs like food and transport continue to pose major challenges, but underlying price pressures also significantly contribute to headline inflation. For households, this means that relief from individual food or fuel price declines may not immediately alleviate overall living costs, as price pressures persist across other parts of the consumption basket.",
  "summary": "Kenya’s inflation problem is no longer being driven only by volatile food and fuel prices, with underlying price pressures gaining ground as core inflation rose to 3.4 per cent in August, new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows. The development offers a more nuanced picture of the country’s cost-of-living pressures. While […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Kenya's core inflation rose to 3.4% in August, up from 3.2% in July",
    "Non-core inflation stood at 14.7% in August, down from 15.0% in July",
    "Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages contributed 2.6 percentage points to overall inflation"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}