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The Consumer Price Indices (CPI) increased by 0.29 percent from 131.51 in August to 131.89 this month, according to the latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics/FILE

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Kenya’s inflation falls again in September

The Consumer Price Indices (CPI) increased by 0.29 percent from 131.51 in August to 131.89 this month, according to the latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 28 – Inflation eased once again in September, to stand at 5.32 percent from August’s 6.09 percent.

The Consumer Price Indices (CPI) increased by 0.29 percent from 131.51 in August to 131.89 this month, according to the latest report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

The food and non alcoholic drinks’ index increased by 0.29 percent as well, due to a net effect of both falls and rises in the prices of a number of food products.

“The prices of sukuma wiki, tomatoes, onions and carrots declined by 6.8, 3.1, 3.2 and 6.2 percent respectively between August and September 2012,” a statement from KNBS said.

Significant rises in sugar, potatoes, oranges and beef among others saw a slight increase in the food index.

Higher rents in select areas, increase in the cost of cooking fuels especially kerosene, which went up by Sh5.68 to Sh79.65, saw the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ index go up by 0.35 percent.

However, drops in the average prices of electricity and cooking gas were recorded in the period under review.

The transport index went up by 0.49 percent between August and September mainly due to higher costs of diesel, petrol and bus fares.

Super petrol in Nairobi went up by Sh2.47 to sell at 108.95, while diesel increased by Sh3.99 to retail at Sh101.07, after the latest fuel price review by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Razia Khan the Regional Head of Research for Africa at Standard Chartered Bank PLC says the country should continue to see a decline in the inflation rate despite the recent hike in fuel and transport prices.

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“Even if transport prices were to turn less favourable, and we started to see a month on month rise in inflation, chances are so long as those increases were modest; we would still see an overall deceleration in year on year inflation. Transport, according to KNBS, only makes up around 8.66 percent of the CPI basket,” she said

Meanwhile the country’s GDP expanded by 3.3 percent in the second quarter of this year, slightly slower than the 3.5 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

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