Rising food and transport costs are putting fresh pressure on household budgets, with Kenya’s annual inflation rate climbing to 6.6 per cent in August, the second monthly increase in a row.
The latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that the cost of living remained high during the month, with food and commuting taking up a large share of the increase recorded in consumer prices.
Inflation rose from 6.5 per cent in July to 6.6 per cent in August, keeping the rate above five per cent for the fifth consecutive month.
Food prices remained the biggest source of pressure after rising by 9.0 per cent in August compared with the same month last year. Transport costs recorded an even sharper increase, rising by 15.7 per cent over the same period.
The two areas together added 4.1 percentage points to the overall inflation rate of 6.6 per cent, meaning they were behind nearly two-thirds of the annual rise in consumer prices.
Food has a major effect on household spending because it makes up 32.9 per cent of the basket used to measure changes in the cost of living. Transport accounts for another 9.6 per cent of the basket.
The latest figures show how inflation has changed course since the beginning of the year. During the first three months of 2026, inflation averaged 4.3 per cent before rising sharply to 6.7 per cent in May.
It later dropped to 6.4 per cent in June but started rising again in July and August.
August’s 6.6 per cent rate was just below the 6.7 per cent recorded in May, which remains the highest inflation rate since January 2024.
The increase in prices has come amid pressure on both food supplies and fuel costs. The period of higher inflation began with the US-Israel war in Iran, while lower-than-expected rainfall from late last year affected food production.
Transport has been one of the most persistent sources of price pressure in recent months. Its inflation rate has remained above 15 per cent for four straight months, adding to the cost faced by households that depend on public transport and other forms of travel.
The rise in transport costs has been steep compared with the beginning of the year. In February, before the war in Iran, transport inflation stood at 4.0 per cent.
The rate then increased to 10 per cent in April before reaching 16.5 per cent in May. It has remained above the 15 per cent level since then.
The KNBS figures also show a clear difference between core and non-core inflation. Core inflation, which leaves out items whose prices tend to change more sharply, stood at 3.4 per cent in August.
Non-core inflation, on the other hand, was much higher at 14.7 per cent.
The continued rise in food and transport prices has therefore kept pressure on household spending, even though the August inflation rate was slightly lower than the peak recorded in May.
For families, the impact has been felt most in areas that take up a large part of their monthly budgets, with food and transport together accounting for a major share of the increase in the cost of living.
The August figures point to continued price pressure after the relatively lower inflation recorded during the opening months of 2026, with transport costs in particular remaining well above the levels seen before the war in Iran.