Key Prices in Kenya Rise Higher in October, Inflation Nears CBK Upper Limit

Kenya's annual inflation rate climbed to 7.3% in October 2026, the highest level recorded since mid-2023Transport costs surged 17.1% year-on-year, with boda boda fares on some routes rising as much as 40%The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released the data as the Central Bank faces pressure ahead of its December policy meetingPAY ATTENTION: Mark TUKO.co.ke as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!

Elijah Ntongai is an experienced editor at TUKO.co.ke, with more than four years in financial, business, labour and technology research and reporting. His work provides valuable insights into Kenyan, African, and global trends.

Kenya's annual inflation rate rose to 7.3% in October 2026, up from 6.8% in September, according to a report published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on October 30, 2026.

Kenya’s inflation rate has climbed to 7.3% in October 2026. Photo: William Ruto/Donwillson Odhiambo/Getty Images. Source: UGCThe figure marks the first time headline inflation has exceeded 7.0% since July 2023 and places it within touching distance of the Central Bank of Kenya's (CBK) 7.5% upper target ceiling.

Safaricom pumps KSh 1.25 trillion into Kenyan economy, supports 1.4m jobs

The Consumer Price Index climbed from 156.47 in September to 157.60 in October, translating to a monthly inflation rate of 0.7%.

Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner 😉

Three expenditure categories accounted for more than 57% of the weighting across the KNBS basket.

Transport recorded the steepest year-on-year rise at 17.1%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages at 10.2%, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 3.7%.

Fuel prices moved sharply between September and October. Petrol climbed 6.0% from KSh 214.95 to KSh 227.85 per litre, while diesel rose 4.4% from KSh 219.04 to KSh 228.77.

Kerosene posted the largest single-month increase of any tracked commodity, surging 14.7% from KSh 192.56 to KSh 220.88 per litre. Over twelve months, petrol was up 22.8%, diesel up 32.5%, and kerosene up 41.6%.

The impact on commuters has been direct. City bus fares from Westlands to Kangemi increased 25% from KSh 40 to KSh 50, while boda boda fares on the Siaya to Awelo route jumped 40% from KSh 50 to KSh 70.

2027 General Election: New survey shows Ruto likely to defeat Kalonzo and Sifuna in upcoming poll

Country bus fares on the Karbanet to Nakuru route rose 30% over the same twelve-month period, reaching KSh 650 per ticket.

In the food basket, fresh packaged cow milk rose 4.7% to KSh 64.13 for a 500-millilitre packet, cabbages climbed 4.1% to KSh 82.38 per kilogram, and Irish potatoes edged up 2.5% to KSh 125.06 per kilogram.

Sugar and oranges offered modest relief, falling 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel components, rose to 4.3% in October from 4.0% in September, contributing 4.5 percentage points to the headline figure.

Non-core inflation stood at 15.1%, up from 14.0% the prior month, contributing 2.8 percentage points. Food and non-alcoholic beverages alone contributed 3.1 percentage points to the overall rate.

Notably, core inflation has risen steadily since January 2026, when it stood at just 2.2%, suggesting that price pressures are broadening beyond volatile categories and becoming more embedded across the economy.

For households spending KSh 10,000 monthly on food in October 2025, the 10.2% year-on-year increase means that the same basket now requires approximately KSh 11,020.

List of top 10 African countries with biggest IMF loans in October 2026

The CBK's Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet in December 2026, where analysts expect policymakers to weigh the case for a rate adjustment against the risk of constraining credit growth and slowing economic recovery.

In earlier news, Kenya's economy expanded by 5.1% in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 4.9% during the same period in 2025, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

The services sector recorded the strongest performance, growing by 5.8% from 5.5%, supported by transport and storage, accommodation and food services, information and communication, finance and insurance, electricity and water supply, and manufacturing.

However, agricultural growth slowed to 3.5% from 4%, while the industry sector expanded by 4.4%, down from 4.6% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

The figures indicated stronger overall economic growth, although the slowdown in agriculture and industry highlights uneven performance across key sectors.

Elijah Ntongai (Business editor) Elijah Ntongai is an MCK-accredited journalist and an editor at TUKO.co.ke’s business desk, covering stories on money, the economy, technology, and other business-angled stories. Ntongai graduated from Moi University with a Bachelor’s in Linguistics, Media and Communication. For any correspondence, contact Ntongai at elijah.ntongai@tuko.co.ke.