Kenya shilling inches up on profit-taking

NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling edged up against the dollar on Monday as some market participants booked recent gains, traders said.

At 0710 GMT, commercial banks posted the shilling at 86.55/65 per dollar, slightly up from Friday's close of 86.60/70.

"Looks some profit taking and some mild (dollar) flows coming into the market," said Duncan Kinuthia, head of trading at Commercial Bank of Africa.

The shilling has been under some pressure in recent weeks due to a drop in short-term interest rates, which makes it easier for banks to fund long dollar positions, but it has received support from the central bank's mopping up of liquidity.