Kenya's economy grows

Kenya's economy grew 6.1 percent in the third quarter this year, well up from 0.5 percent in the same period last year, buoyed mainly by agriculture and nearing levels reached before deadly post-election violence in 2008. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Tuesday that the economy was recovering due to good rains, increased liquidity and prudent macroeconomic management.
Good rainfall since late last year lifted output from the farm sector, which accounts for nearly a quarter of gross domestic product in east Africa's biggest economy, and filled hydro power dams, leading to lower tariffs and cheaper manufacturing costs. "These factors have encouraged a steady growth since the first quarter of the year, leading to a turnaround in sectors of agriculture, electricity and water and a rebound in most of the other sectors," the statistics office said. The manufacturing, construction and service industries benefited from reliable supply of electricity and resilient domestic demand, which had compounded the growth, the statistics office said.
The average growth rate for the first three quarters of 2010 was 5.4 percent compared with 2.1 percent and 2.3 percent for similar periods in 2008 and 2009 respectively, it said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, third-quarter GDP was 1.3 percent higher compared with the second quarter level. Relative to Kenya's GDP, the current account deficit worsened to 11.7 percent in the third quarter of this year compared with 10.0 percent in the same period last year.