Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reported on September 30 that consumer prices in September 2026 were 6.8 percent higher than a year earlier. The monthly change was 0.4 percent, and the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) moved from 155.85 in August to 156.47 in September. The annual rate compares September 2026 with September 2025; the monthly rate tracks movement between August and September. These windows answer different questions. A 6.8 percent annual rate does not mean every item or every household’s costs rose at that pace during September.

Annual price changes in three of the 13 expenditure divisions were as follows: food and non-alcoholic beverages at 9.5 percent, transport at 15.6 percent, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 3.2 percent. Together they account for more than 57 percent of CPI weights. Weights represent importance in the average consumption basket; each household’s spending pattern can differ. Food carries a 32.9094 percent weight, transport 9.6468 percent and housing and energy 14.6124 percent. These are inputs to the index calculation, not price changes or direct measures of a particular household’s budget share.

The monthly picture was more mixed. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 0.9 percent from August, while transport fell 0.4 percent. Housing and energy increased 0.1 percent. KNBS reported monthly increases of 4.5 percent for white wheat flour, 5.8 percent for fresh unpacketed cow milk and 6 percent for packeted milk. In contrast, tomatoes fell 4.1 percent, loose maize flour 1.9 percent and sugar 0.4 percent. Within transport, city and inter-town bus fares declined while international air fares rose; the division average combines those opposing movements.

KNBS put annual core inflation at 4.0 percent, above 3.4 percent in August, and non-core inflation at 14.0 percent. The report’s core/non-core distinction separates parts of the basket with different price behaviour, including more volatile items outside the core measure. The release contains an inconsistency in its contribution table, so this article does not quote contribution-point figures from it. Division inflation rates should not be added as though they were contributions: weights and index methodology require a separate calculation. Annual division rates remain useful for comparing price changes across defined groups, with their coverage and weights in view.

The CPI measures weighted changes in retail prices for a fixed basket of goods and services, with February 2019 as the base period. KNBS collects monthly prices from retail outlets across 50 data-collection zones in urban areas, during the second and third weeks of the month. The national CPI does not separately represent the cost of living in every rural area or the shopping basket of each individual household. Selected national average prices in the report are not live shop quotes; they are observations within the survey period and method. Households may experience different changes from the national average. Comparisons should account for both basket coverage and collection timing.

The September release shows annual inflation at 6.8 percent, compared with 6.6 percent in August. One monthly report does not determine future inflation or monetary-policy decisions. Readers should keep the 0.4 percent monthly rate distinct from the 6.8 percent annual rate and should not assume food and transport carry the same weight as the headline. Food inflation matters to households, but the official index follows an average basket. KNBS measures price-level changes; it does not show that incomes, wages or each household budget changed by the same percentage. The figures describe the September reference period and are not a forecast for following months.