Inflation dropped to 3.8 per cent in May 2025 compared to a year earlier, driven mainly by higher food prices, transport costs, and housing expenses, new data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
According to the statistics, the prices of basic commodities, used by Kenyans on a day-to-day basis, increased even as some dropped.
The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.2 per cent between April 2025 and May 2025.
Notably, prices of sugar, maize flour sifted, and kale-sukuma wiki rose by 4.3, 3.9, and 3.5 per cent, respectively, between April 2025 and May 2025.
However, the prices of potatoes (Irish), oranges, and fresh packaged cow milk dropped by 3.7, 1.8, and 0.6 per cent, respectively, slightly easing pressure on household budgets in some segments.
For non-food items, the cost of electricity slightly eased, with a 50 kWh unit dropping by 1.0 per cent in May compared to April. In simpler terms, if your household uses about 50 units (kWh) of electricity per month, you paid slightly less in May than you did the previous month, by about 1 per cent less.
Gas prices for a 13kg cylinder fell by 0.5 per cent, while fuel prices remained unchanged from the previous month. However, these marginal declines were not enough to offset the upward trend in the broader consumer price index.
''The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’ Index had a negligible change between April 2025 and May 2025. During this period, the price of a 50 kWh unit of electricity and a 200 kWh unit of electricity declined by 1.0 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. Further, the price of gas/LPG dropped by 0.5 per cent during the same period," the report by KNBS read in part.
On housing, the cost of renting a single room did not change between April and May 2025 — it stayed at around Ksh4,170 per month. However, compared to May last year, rent for the same type of room went up by about 1.7 per cent.
Transport costs, which account for nearly 10 per cent of the average household budget, increased slightly by 0.2 per cent in May 2025 compared to April 2025.
This rise was mainly driven by higher prices of international flights, while petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged during the review period. Over the past year, transport costs have risen by 2.3 per cent, reflecting ongoing fluctuations in the sector’s operational expenses.
Additional sectors also saw mixed changes in May 2025. Education Services recorded a modest monthly increase of 0.2 per cent, contributing to a 2.9 per cent rise compared to May 2024, while restaurants and accommodation services edged up by 0.1 per cent for the month, with an annual increase of 3.8 per cent.
Insurance and financial services remained steady in May but showed a slight 0.9 per cent growth over the year. Meanwhile, personal care, social protection, and miscellaneous goods and services rose by 0.4 per cent in May, resulting in a 3.7 per cent increase from the previous year.
