Kenya’s overall inflation falls to 5.49pc

NAIROBI, June 02 (Xinhua): Kenya’s overall inflation fell to 5.49 per cent in May, down from 6.58 per cent in April, the statistics bureau said on Friday.

Zachary Mwangi, director general of Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), said that the lower inflation rate was driven by a decrease in the cost of food.

“The year-on-year food inflation decreased from 8.17 per cent in April 2019 to 6.33 per cent in May 2019,” Mwangi said in a statement issued from Nairobi.

The Food and Non-Alcohol Drink’s Index decreased by 0.37 per cent in May due to favorable weather conditions that led to lower prices.

Mwangi said that the Consumer Price Indices (CPI) decreased by 0.07 per cent from 205.9 in April 2019 to 205.77 in May 2019.

The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ Index rose by 0.61 per cent as a result of higher cost of some house rents and cooking fuels.

The transport index rose by 0.32 per cent, mainly on account of increases in pump prices of petrol and diesel.

Price data came from selected retail outlets in 25 data collection zones in Nairobi and in 13 other urban centers.