Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell slightly from 142.82 points in September 2013 to 142.75 points in October 2013. The overall rate of inflation declined from 8.29 per cent to 7.76 per cent during the period. The Kenyan shilling appreciated against all major currencies and exchanged at an average of KSh 85.31, KSh 137.31, KSh 116.33, KSh 87.24, KSh 8.80, KSh 29.74 and KSh 18.87 against the US dollar, sterling pound, Euro, Japanese Yen, South African rand, the Ugandan and Tanzanian shilling respectively, as at the end of October 2013.
The average yield rate for the 91-day Treasury bills, which is a benchmark for the general trend of interest rates, increased from 9.58 per cent in September 2013 to 9.70 in October 2013. The inter-bank rates increased from 7.82 per cent to 10.60 per cent during the period. The Nairobi Securities Exchange share index (NSE 20) went up from 4,793 points in September 2013 to 4,936 points in October 2013, while the total number of shares traded increased from 489 to 804 million shares during the same period. The total value of NSE shares traded rose from KSh 10.1 billion to KSh 15.9 billion. Broad money supply (M3), a key indicator for monetary policy formulation, increased from KSh 1,862.0 billion in September 2013 to 1,879.1 billion in September 2013. Money and Quasi-money (M2) expanded from KSh 1,593.4 billion to KSh 1,596.6 billion over the same period. Gross Foreign Exchange Reserves increased from KSh 684.6 billion in August to KSh 695.2 billion in September 2013. Net Foreign Exchange Reserves decreased to KSh 374.5 billion over the same period.