Kenya's annual inflation rose slightly to 29.4 percent in November from 28.4 percent in October due to increasing food prices, the national statistical bureau said on Monday.
A statement from the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday that the underlying inflation, which excludes food items, eased to 12.3 percent from 13.0 percent of the previous month.
"Month on month overall inflation rate increased from 28.4 percent in October 2008 to 29.4 percent in November. On the other hand, month-on-month underlying inflation rate which excluded items from the Consumer Prices Indices (CPI) basket decreased from13.0 percent in October to 12.3 percent in November," said the bureau in a statement.
The cost of living in Kenya has continued spiral despite pledges from the government to contain the situation.
But the government has blamed the rising cost of fuel and global food process as the reasons behind the increase in inflation. Last month, the government reduced VAT on electricity to lower the inflation.
Analysts and industrialists are, however, optimistic that inflation could drop to single digits by early next year, lifting the price burden off households and moderating costs for producers in the country.
The statistics bureau said food and nonalcoholic drinks index increased by 3.1 percent from 392.81 in October mainly due to increases in the prices of maize flour, tomatoes and maize grain among other food items.
"The fuel and power index decreased by 0.7 percent from 386.01 in October to 383.49 in November. This was mainly due to decreases in the cost of diesel and petrol," the bureau said.
It said the average cost of a litre of diesel decreased by 7.9 percent from 97.97 shillings (about 1.24 U.S. dollars) in October to 90.20 shillings in November. Similarly, the prices of regular and supper petrol decreased by 3.0 and 6.2 percents, respectively," it said.
The data is generated from 13 urban centers in the country and it is believed to be a reflection of the spending behavior among Kenyans.
It is collected in the second and third weeks of the month under review in order to maintain consistency in price variations.
The bureau observed that the underlying inflation, which excludes food items from the CPI basket, rose from 13.1 percent in August to 13.3 percent.
Source:Xinhua
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