Kenya shilling weakens marginally due to dollar demand

NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling was a touch weaker on Monday, reflecting growing demand for dollars from importers seeking to meet end-of-month obligations.

At 0645 GMT, commercial banks posted the shilling at 86.20/30, slightly weaker than Friday's closing rate of 86.15/25.

"We are seeing people picking (dollars) ahead of the close of the month. This is just the usual end-of-the-month demand," Bank of Africa Kenya's head of corporate trading Peter Mutuku said.

Importers such as energy firms normally ramp up demand at the end of the month as they stock up for the next month or settle outstanding payments to suppliers.