Kenya's overall inflation rises slightly to 7.21% in January

Kenya's overall inflation rate for the month of January rose to 7.21 percent from 7.15 percent in December 2013 due to increases in the prices of housing, water and energy, the statistics bureau said on Friday. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) computed using the geometric mean approach rose by 1. 08 percent from 143.85 in December 2013 to 145.40 in January. "During the month of January, Food and Non Alcoholic drinks' Index increased by 1.00 percent. The increases in some food prices outweighed falls, resulting in an aggregate rise in the index," the statement said. According to statistics bureau, between December 2013 and January, the Housing Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels index increased by 0.87 percent. "This is mainly attributed to increases in cost of housing rents as well as rises in the prices of common cooking fuels," the bureau said. During the month, a slight increase in forex adjustment charges was recorded and this caused an upsurge in the cost of electricity compared to last month. Transport index increased by 1.95 percent over the review period, mainly due to higher prices of petrol, diesel, parking charges as well as public transport fares. According to the bureau, the Recreation and Culture Index rose during the same period. The bureau attributed the rise in the cost of text books, adding that rises in tuition fees pushed the education index upwards in the review period. The statement comes after the Central Bank of Kenya's Monetary Policy Committee, which reviewed market developments and the outcomes of the previous monetary policy stance for January, noted that overall inflation had continued to decline in December 2013 and remained within the target range. The committee said the exchange rate stability was sustained during the period which reduced the risk of imported inflation. The overall month-on-month inflation declined from 7.36 percent in November 2013 to 7.15 percent in December 2013 showing that credit expansion during the period had not been inflationary. The month-on-month non-food-non-fuel (NFNF) inflation declined from 5.01 percent to 4.71 percent during the month reflecting the impact of the monetary policy stance.