The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has released the Consumer Price Indices and Inflation data for December 2025, giving insight into pricing trends in Kenya for various commodities during the month. According to the data release, the annual rate of consumer price inflation for the month of December 2025 was recorded at 4.5%,unchanged from November 2025.
The Overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) demonstrated a continuous upward movement, rising from 147.08 in November 2025 to 148.02 in December 2025. This growth translated to a monthly inflation rate of 0.6 per cent for December 2025.
Key Drivers of Inflation
A closer examination of the report reveals that the inflationary trend was driven principally by price movements within three divisions. The most significant contributor was the food and non-alcoholic beverages division, which experienced a substantial price surge of 7.8 per cent relative to December 2024.
This was followed by the transport sector, where prices rose by 5.2 per cent, and the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels category, which saw a more moderate increase of 1.6 per cent. Collectively, these three divisions hold considerable sway over the overall inflation calculation, given that they account for more than 57 per cent of the total weighting across the thirteen major divisions tracked by the Bureau.
Categorically, food items that posted notable increases included tomatoes (30.3%), kale-Sukuma Wiki (23.4%), mangoes (23.1%), maize flour (13.2%), loose maize grain (12.6%), sugar (12.5%) and Irish potatoes (8.3%). In contrast, commodities that witnessed declines over the 12 months include electricity (200 kWh), which fell by 3.7, while fresh packeted cow milk declined by 1.3 percent, cushioning households against sharper inflation.
In the transportation index, prices of related items showed mixed trends: country bus and matatu fares between towns went up by 5.3% (on account of the December festive season travel, hence demand-pull inflation) while prices of international flights went up by 14.4% due to the effect of the festive season.
In a wider scope, Kenya’s inflation rate has remained below 5% since July last year, supported by stability of the Kenyan shilling and interest rates. The local currency has stabilized at around KES 129 for more than a year, helping to ease the cost of imported goods. A stronger shilling has also contributed to lower electricity tariffs and reduced prices for imported petroleum products.
Food prices remains a key concern for households, particularly as real wages stay under pressure and most new jobs are informal. Consequently, while headlines inflation remains contained, the cost of living for many households continues to be driven by changes in basic food prices.
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