Central Bank Rate
The rate the Central Bank of Kenya sets, which everything else in the shilling economy is priced off. Changed only at Monetary Policy Committee meetings.
Next MPC meeting: December 2026
8.75%
Held at the 7 Oct 2026 meeting
Market Watch
Kenya, in numbers.
Rates, inflation, Treasury bills, the shilling and the NSE. Every figure is dated, every one links to the document it came from, and nothing here is a forecast unless it says so.
Figures as of 9 October 2026
Policy and prices
The rate the Central Bank sets, and the inflation it is set against.
Inflation (12-month)
How much consumer prices rose over the past year, from KNBS's consumer price index. KNBS and CBK announce it to one decimal; CBK's monthly table carries two.
6.8%
+0.2 pts from Aug 2026
History 21 readings
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 6.76% | Announced as 6.8% | Source |
| Aug 2026 | 6.59% | Source | |
| Jul 2026 | 6.49% | Source | |
| Jun 2026 | 6.41% | Source | |
| May 2026 | 6.68% | Source | |
| Apr 2026 | 5.59% | Source | |
| Mar 2026 | 4.39% | Source | |
| Feb 2026 | 4.25% | Source | |
| Jan 2026 | 4.40% | Source | |
| Dec 2025 | 4.49% | Source | |
| Nov 2025 | 4.46% | Source | |
| Oct 2025 | 4.56% | Source | |
| Sept 2025 | 4.58% | Source | |
| Aug 2025 | 4.53% | Source | |
| Jul 2025 | 4.15% | Source | |
| Jun 2025 | 3.82% | Source | |
| May 2025 | 3.75% | Source | |
| Apr 2025 | 4.11% | Source | |
| Mar 2025 | 3.62% | Source | |
| Feb 2025 | 3.45% | Source | |
| Jan 2025 | 3.28% | Source |
Core inflation
Inflation excluding food and fuel. The part of the price level that a policy rate can actually reach.
4.0%
+0.6 pts from Aug 2026
Non-core inflation
Food and fuel prices. Driven by weather, harvests and world oil, which a central bank cannot touch.
14.0%
−0.7 pts from Aug 2026
Real policy rate
The Central Bank Rate minus 12-month inflation. Our calculation, not an official series: it shows how tight policy really is once rising prices are counted.
The CBR in force at the end of each month, minus that month’s inflation. Above zero, money held in shillings earns more than prices rise.
2.0pts
−0.2 pts from Aug 2026
History 8 readings
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 1.99 pts | CBR 11 Aug 2026 − Inflation Sept 2026 | |
| Aug 2026 | 2.16 pts | CBR 11 Aug 2026 − Inflation Aug 2026 | |
| Jul 2026 | 2.26 pts | CBR 9 Jun 2026 − Inflation Jul 2026 | |
| Jun 2026 | 2.34 pts | CBR 9 Jun 2026 − Inflation Jun 2026 | |
| May 2026 | 2.07 pts | CBR 8 Apr 2026 − Inflation May 2026 | |
| Apr 2026 | 3.16 pts | CBR 8 Apr 2026 − Inflation Apr 2026 | |
| Mar 2026 | 4.36 pts | CBR 10 Feb 2026 − Inflation Mar 2026 | |
| Feb 2026 | 4.50 pts | CBR 10 Feb 2026 − Inflation Feb 2026 |
Banking
What money costs between banks overnight, and what banks charge you and pay you.
KESONIA (overnight)
The Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average — what banks charge each other to borrow overnight. CBK steers it towards the Central Bank Rate.
8.75%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 2026 | 8.7507% | Source |
CBK discount window
The rate at which a bank short of cash can borrow from CBK overnight. The ceiling of the corridor around the Central Bank Rate.
9.25%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 2026 | 9.25% | Source |
Average lending rate
The average interest rate commercial banks charge on loans.
14.34%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 14.34% | Source |
Average deposit rate
The average interest rate commercial banks pay on deposits.
6.91%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 6.91% | Source |
Average savings rate
The average interest rate commercial banks pay on ordinary savings accounts.
3.54%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 3.54% | Source |
Private sector credit growth
How fast commercial bank lending to businesses and households grew over the past year.
10.6%
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 10.6% | Source |
Treasury bills
What the government pays to borrow for three months to a year, set at CBK’s weekly auction. Dated by the day the bills are issued.
91-day Treasury bill
The weighted average rate the government accepted at the weekly 91-day bill auction. Dated by CBK's issue date.
8.76%
−0.8 bp from 5 Oct 2026
182-day Treasury bill
The weighted average rate the government accepted at the weekly 182-day bill auction. Dated by CBK's issue date.
8.87%
−1.1 bp from 5 Oct 2026
364-day Treasury bill
The weighted average rate the government accepted at the weekly 364-day bill auction. Dated by CBK's issue date.
9.04%
−0.5 bp from 5 Oct 2026
The shilling
CBK’s indicative exchange rates, and the reserves that stand behind them.
US dollar
Shillings per US dollar: CBK's published indicative mean rate for the day.
129.94
+0.18 from 2 Oct 2026
British pound
Shillings per pound sterling: CBK's indicative mean rate.
171.62
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2026 | 171.62 | Source |
Euro
Shillings per euro: CBK's indicative mean rate.
145.37
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2026 | 145.37 | Source |
Foreign exchange reserves
CBK's holdings of foreign currency, and how many months of imports they would pay for. The buffer behind the shilling.
14,702USD m
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct 2026 | USD 14,702m | 5.9 months of import cover | Source |
Nairobi Securities Exchange
Index levels, the value of everything listed, and how much changed hands.
NSE All Share Index
Every share listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, weighted by size. The broadest measure of the Kenyan stock market.
245.34
−1.98 from 2 Oct 2026
NSE 20 Share Index
Twenty large, actively traded NSE shares, equally weighted. The oldest index on the exchange.
4,323.26
−0.34 from 2 Oct 2026
NSE 25 Share Index
The twenty-five most liquid NSE shares.
6,967.38
−34.10 from 2 Oct 2026
NSE 10 Share Index
The ten most liquid NSE shares, weighted by free-float size.
2,737.01
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 2026 | 2,737.01 | Source |
Equity market capitalisation
The combined value of every share listed on the NSE, in billions of shillings.
4,117KSh bn
−KSh 33bn from 2 Oct 2026
Equity turnover
The value of NSE shares that changed hands in the session, in millions of shillings.
429.5KSh m
−KSh 193.3m from 2 Oct 2026
The real economy
Growth, and the price at the pump.
Real GDP growth
How fast the economy grows in a year, after inflation. Figures for this year and next are CBK projections, not outturns.
CBK projects 5.0% for 2026 and 5.3% for 2027.
4.6%
First reading in our record
Super petrol, Nairobi
EPRA's maximum pump price in Nairobi for the month running from the 15th. Set monthly; transport is inflation's second-largest driver.
214.03KSh/L
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sept 2026 | KSh 214.03 | Cycle 15 Sept – 14 Oct | Source |
Diesel, Nairobi
EPRA's maximum pump price in Nairobi for the month running from the 15th.
217.86KSh/L
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sept 2026 | KSh 217.86 | Cycle 15 Sept – 14 Oct | Source |
Kerosene, Nairobi
EPRA's maximum pump price in Nairobi for the month running from the 15th.
191.38KSh/L
First reading in our record
History 1 reading
| Date | Value | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sept 2026 | KSh 191.38 | Cycle 15 Sept – 14 Oct | Source |
Nothing on this desk
Every series we track sits on one of the three desks, so this should not happen. Show everything instead.
Where these numbers come from
We read every figure at the source that publishes it — the Central Bank, KNBS through CBK’s tables, the NSE, EPRA — and record it with its date and a link to the document. When a primary source has not published a figure where we can read it, we say who reported it instead, and mark it Reported rather than Verified.
Each trading day the NSE’s own trading report and AIB-AXYS Africa’s daily market report arrive by email. We use them to update the exchange figures and to cross-check everything else. Business Daily’s market pages and The Kenyan Wall Street are checked by eye; we never copy their text or tables.
A figure that has not been checked does not go on this page. If two sources disagree, the primary source wins and we note the difference. Spot something wrong? Tell us — corrections are noted in the row’s history, never quietly overwritten.
- Verified
- Read by us at the primary source named on this row.
- Reported
- The primary source has not published this where we can read it, so it is cited from the outlet that reported it.
- Calculated
- Worked out by us from two verified series. The method is in the row.
- primaryCentral Bank of KenyaPrimary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- primaryCBK Monetary Policy CommitteePrimary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- primaryCBK inflation series (KNBS CPI)Primary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- primaryCBK Treasury bill auction resultsPrimary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- primaryNairobi Securities Exchange market statisticsPrimary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- primaryEnergy and Petroleum Regulatory AuthorityPrimary source. Figures are read from what this body publishes.
- emailNSE daily trading report (email)Read from the emailed report as received. Figures are the NSE's own.
- reportAIB-AXYS Africa Daily Market WatchRead from the emailed report only. Their website disallows automated fetching of reports, so we never fetch it, and we cite rather than reproduce their commentary.
- secondaryThe Kenyan Wall StreetUsed as a lead and for attribution. Facts are cited with credit; their text and tables are never copied.
- crosscheckBusiness Daily MarketsLicensed market data. Used to cross-check figures by eye only; never copied, scraped or republished.
- secondaryKenyans.co.keUsed as a lead and for attribution. Facts are credited; text and tables are never copied.
Education and information only — not investment advice, and not a trading feed. Exchange rates are CBK’s indicative mean rates; banks and bureaus quote their own. Index levels are end-of-day.