Leading Economic Indicators - December 2017

The Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for December 2017 is a monthly publication of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics that highlights trends in consumer price indices and inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, international trade, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, building and construction, tourism and transport. Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased from 182.07 points in November 2017 to 183.05 points in December 2017. The overall rate of inflation dropped from 4.73 per cent to 4.50 per cent during the same period. In December 2017, the Kenyan Shilling appreciated against the major trading currencies except for the SA Rand and the Tanzanian Shilling. The average yield rate for the 91-day Treasury bills, which is a benchmark for the general trend of interest rates remained at 8.01 per cent in December 2017 while the inter-bank rate dropped from 8.86 per cent in November 2017 to 7.27 per cent in December 2017.