Kenya inflation unexpectedly quickens on soaring fuel prices
Kenyan inflation unexpectedly quickened to a three-month high in October, owing to higher energy prices.
Consumer prices rose an annual 6.9% in the month from 6.8% in September, the Nairobi-based Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday in an emailed statement. The median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey was 6.7%.
The reading will weigh on the central bank’s rate-setting monetary policy committee which meets in early December. Governor Kamau Thugge last month said he expects overall inflation to remain within the bank’s target range of 2.5% to 7.5%.
The main contributors to the acceleration were higher electricity and transport prices.
Rising fuel prices remain a key risk to inflation, with higher gasoline prices impacting the cost of production, transport and distribution, as well as thermal electricity generation. Higher fuel costs are also seen seeping through soaring food prices.
Kenya increased gasoline prices by 2.7% to a record high during the month, forcing authorities to partially reinstate a subsidy to contain costs. Transport prices rose 13.6% in October from 13% a month earlier.
