Month: March 2016

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics hereby releases Consumer Price Indices (CPI) and inflation rates for March, 2016. These numbers have been generated using data collected during the second and third weeks of the month under review. The prices were obtained from selected retail outlets in 25 data collection zones located in Nairobi and 13 other urban centers.

The CPI increased by 0.76 per cent from 164.67 in February 2016 to 165.92 in March 2016. The overall inflation rate stood at 6.45 per cent in March 2016. Download CPI and Inflation Rates for March 2016..

The Leading Economic Indicators highlights trends in Consumer Price Indices (CPI) and inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, international trade, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, building and construction, tourism and transport.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined from 165.37 points in January 2015 to 164.67 points in February 2016. The overall rate of inflation dropped from 7.78 per cent to 6.84 per cent during the same period. In February, 2016 the Kenyan Shilling remained generally stable against major currencies.

The average yield rate for the 91-day Treasury bills, which is a benchmark for the general trend of interest rates, declined from 12.34 per cent in November 2015 to 9.69 per cent in December 2015. However, the inter-bank rate fell to 5.31 in December 2015 from 8.85 per cent in November 2015.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) 20 share index contracted from 4,040 points in December 2015 to 3,773 points in January 2016, while the total number of shares traded decreased from 474 million to 422 million shares during the same period. The total value of NSE shares traded dropped from KSh 15.11 billion in December 2015 to KSh 13.00 billion in January 2016.
Broad money supply (M3), a key indicator for monetary policy formulation rose from KSh 2,650,470 billion in December 2015 to KSh 2,617,553 billion in January 2016.

Gross Foreign Exchange Reserves decreased from KSh 999.00 billion in December 2015 to KSh 976.00 billion in January 2016. Net Foreign Exchange Reserves went down from KSh 493.53 billion in December 2015 to KSh 470.25 billion in January 2016. Download Leading Economic Indicators February 2016..

The 2016 FinAccess Household Survey is the fourth in a series of surveys that measure the financial inclusion landscape (access, usage, quality and impact) in Kenya. The 2006, baseline survey and the subsequent surveys of 2009 and 2013, have shown that Kenya has made significant progress in fostering financial inclusion, with the latest survey providing a ten year perspective on Kenya’s financial landscape.

The surveys constitute an important tool for providing a better understanding of the financial inclusion landscape in line with the financial sector development agenda, as laid out in Kenya’s Vision 2030, and a monitoring tool for progress under the government’s Medium Term Plan (MTP) for the financial services sector.
The surveys contain disaggregated data on key market segments, data on drivers of uptake and usage including attitudes, perceptions and needs as well as profiling the financial services landscape.
FinAccess 2016 was conducted by a multi-stakeholder body including the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya). Data collection was carried out between August and October 2015 by IPSOS Kenya, with quality control by Research Plus Africa.
This report presents the key findings from the survey. Additional analysis will be made available through issue-based reports. The data will also be disseminated through consultative workshops with all stakeholders. The dataset can be downloaded from the CBK, KNBS and FSD Kenya websites.Download FinAccess 2016 survey report

Findings of the 2016 FinAccess household survey were presented at an event in Nairobi on 18th February 2016 graced by Zachary Mwangi, Director General of KNBS, Sheila M’Mbijjiwe, Deputy Governor of the CBK  and Lisa Phillips, Head of DFID Kenya . The newly released 2016 survey provides the first ten-year perspective on financial inclusion in Kenya.

The number of Kenyans formally included by the financial system has grown by 50% in the last ten years. Over three-quarters (75.3%) of Kenyans are now formally included, up from 66.8% in 2013. Financial exclusion, which is now down to 17.4%, has more than halved since 2006.

The 2016 FinAccess household survey is the fourth in the series of surveys that measure the drivers and usage of financial services in Kenya. The baseline survey was released in 2006. These results provide the first ever ten-year perspective on the financial inclusion landscape. Download the full 2016 FinAccess