This indicates a significant turnaround in firms’ pricing behavior toward an environment where they find it easier to raise their sales prices than before. The current rise in a wide range of CPI items reflects three factors: (a) an import price rise driven by the yen’s depreciation; (b) an increase in domestic demand; and (c) a pass-through of a wage rise.
  Rolling out Agency Banking, with over 8,000 agents being contracted by 7 banks countrywide and more than Ksh.17 billion worth of transactions conducted through agents as at the end of August 2011 since roll-out in July 2010.