Inflation stood at 3.7% in April

Based on the details of the monthly price change, the KSH measured movements in the direction expected, however, the measures differed somewhat from our expectations. Vehicle fuels rose slightly more than we expected, by 3.5% compared to March, while the CSO showed a stronger-than-expected 2.4% decrease in the price of household energy. The prices of clothing items rose slightly more than usual at this time. At the same time, we expected slightly higher prices for food, in this category the CSO reported a 0.3% price increase. For services, the CSO reported a 1.3% monthly price increase, which exceeded our expectations for this category. In communications, there was a 1.2% monthly increase in prices, but at the same time, especially unlisted services rose in price significantly, by 4.2% compared to March.

Examining the inflation sub-data on an annual basis, food prices, which make up 30% of the basket, increased by 1%, which is partly the result of base effects and partly the result of increasingly widespread price reductions. The prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products with a weight of 8% within inflation increased by 3.8%, clothing items with a weight of 4% increased by 4.8%, while the prices of consumer durables representing a weight of 8% 1 decreased by .7%. The household energy price with a weight of 5% decreased by 4.5%, the combined price category of other items (medicine, personal care, cultural items, home furnishings) and fuel representing a weight of 19% increased by 3.9%, within fuel prices rose by 6.6%. With a weight of 26%, the price increase of services representing the second largest category amounted to 9.5%, which is still considered high.