Browsing: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)

• The cost of borrowing in Kenya has been going up since October last year, when it was at 10.50 per cent, before two consecutive raises.
• This means banks are likely to adjust their interest rates upwards, pushing the cost of borrowing beyond the reach of many.
• The majority of bank rates are currently above 20 per cent, amid a high default rate as banks struggle with Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).

Higher interest rates to raise the cost of borrowing in Kenya

The cost of borrowing in Kenya is set for yet another rise if banks are to factor in the latest Central Bank of Kenya increase in the base-lending rate.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has raised borrowing costs to highs last seen nearly 12 years ago, as it moves to try and contain the country’s inflation, which has started to pick.

On Tuesday, the Monetary Policy Committee, CBK’s top …

• Inflation in Kenya slightly increased to 6.9 per cent in January after declining for two consecutive months in November and December.
• Official statistics show that increases in food, energy, and transportation costs, which together account for about 57 per cent of household budgets, drove up inflation in Kenya.
• Between December 2023 and January 2024, the prices of Irish potatoes, carrots, oranges, and cabbages increased.

In January, inflation in Kenya increased marginally to 6.9 per cent, attributed to a rise in food prices. This comes after a consecutive decline in inflation for two months in November and December, easing below the statutory level to 7.3 per cent in July.

November recorded 6.8 per cent, decreasing to 6.6 per cent in December. The latest statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that consumers in Kenya will need to dig deeper into their pockets to buy basic food items.

Inflation

• Kenya’s electricity imports from its neighbours have more than doubled
• For years, Ethiopia has supplanted Uganda from position one, Kenya’s top source of power imports.
• The East African nation has revealed that it needs $5.3 billion to overhaul power transmission lines and forestall frequent blackouts.

Kenya’s electricity imports from its neighbours have more than doubled in the past year amid increased demand and a slower pace of investment in energy infrastructure.

Data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said the country imported 706.9 million kWh of electricity from Ethiopia and Uganda in the first 11 months of 2023, up from 288.27 million kWh in a similar period in 2022.

The bulk of the power imports — 546.5 million kWh — were sourced from Ethiopia during the period, according to KNBS, with the country emerging as Kenya’s biggest electricity supplier in the region. (pamblancopainting.com) Ethiopia has supplanted …

• Kenya’s input prices and output charges rise at much softer rates.
• New orders decrease slightly, survey shows.
• Declines in output and employment ease.

Kenya’s private sector business conditions showed a strong move towards stability in December 2023, as revealed by the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index findings, even though businesses remained less optimistic about the future into 2024.

According to the Stanbic Bank Kenya PMI compiled by S&P Global, rises in input costs and output prices were the softest since April of the previous year, having slowed markedly from record highs in October.

Kenya’s private sector experiences uptick in client spending

Consequently, many companies experienced a recovery in new work amid improved client spending, offsetting the impact of cost-of-living pressures. As a result, new orders, output, and employment all declined to lesser degrees.

The headline figure derived from the survey is the PMI. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in …

Nairobi will continue purchasing fuel on credit from three state-owned Gulf oil marketers until December 2024 in a plan the government is banking on to ease piling pressure on Kenya’s forex reserves.
The move comes in the wake of high expenditure on oil imports even as Kenya remains a net importer grappling with a widening trade deficit that hit $10.8 billion last year. Last year, Kenya’s expenditure on imports rose by 17.5 per cent to $16.9 billion (KSh2.5 trillion), despite growing export volumes.…

• Kenya’s inflation has eased for the second month in a row since hitting 8% in May.
• The drop in the cost of living came despite increased taxes on pump prices that is manifesting in higher transport costs.
• Previously, Central Bank Governor Kamau Thugge projected Kenya’s inflation to fall within the target band of 2.5% to 7.5% by October.

Kenya’s inflation eased in the month of July, going below the Central Bank of Kenya’s target range of between 2.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent for the first time in over a year. In the month under focus, Kenya’s inflation dropped to 7.3 per cent down from 7.9 per cent in June. The drop in the cost of living came despite increased taxes on pump prices that is manifesting in higher transport costs.

Consumer prices went up by 7.3 percent annually in July, marking the slowest rate in 14 months. This …