NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling was steady at near three-year lows on Thursday, after strengthening slightly in the previous session when the central bank sold dollars to support the currency.
At 0700 GMT, commercial banks posted the shilling unchanged from Wednesday's closing level of 90.10/20 against the dollar.
The currency had at one point gained to 90.00/90.10 to the greenback on Wednesday after the central bank sold dollars.
"For now the shilling is stable, and is likely to trade rangebound unless the central bank sells dollars again," said Sheikh Mehran, senior trader at Kenya Commercial Bank.
Mehran said the shilling was heading into the "holiday blues" in December, with trade expected to be light in the first two weeks and taper off in the second half of the month, barring any huge and unforeseen dollar buying or selling.
The shilling would trade in a range between 90 to 90.50 in the coming days, traders said.
Central bank intervention on Wednesday had buoyed the currency, they said, but not enough to drive it below the 90-level against the dollar, which would probably happen only as a result of strong hard currency inflows.
The shilling has been under pressure this year due to a slump in revenues from tourism, a major hard currency earner that has been hurt by a spate of militant attacks. In the most recent, 28 people were killed last weekend in northeast Kenya in an attack claimed by militants.
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