I'm sure they're expecting eurobond inflows to stabilize the shilling as the VAT bill wrecks all sort of havoc. It's a gamble with the hold decision but everyone knows you must always stack the cards in your favour to generate the desired outcome. The case of fuzzy (fudged) inflation stats that influenced the decision. The core inflation figure aka non-food-non-fuel supposedly went down (3.86) according to the MPC statement leading to the assumption that there were no demand driven factors in play in August. But when you go to the statistic bureau website (www.knbs.or.ke) and download the latest CPI it's a conflicting story.
Food and fuel indices (2 items)
Food - 9.74
Housing, water, fuel - 4.58
Headline inflation - 6.67
Non-food-non-fuel (10 items)
Alcoholic beverages - 6.10
Clothing and footwear - 4.79
Furnishings - 3.62
Health - 4.33
Transport - 6.66
Communication - 3.62 (minus)
Recreation and culture - 3.87
Education - 4.83
Restaurant and hotel - 6.98
Miscellaneous - 4.47
Core inflation - 3.86?
The law of averages is simple. The average can't be statistically lower than the sum of its parts. Thus core inflation can't be 3.86 based on the 10 items above that form it. Yet this figure is the evidence of the declining threat from demand driven inflation.
“We are the middle children of history man, no purpose or place. We have no great war, no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives!" – Tyler Durden