NAIROBI: Kenya's shilling weakened on Monday after energy firms and manufacturers sought dollars, while the benchmark share index edged lower for the fifth session in a row.
At the 1300 GMT close, the shilling was quoted at 91.40/50, compared to Friday's close of 91.15/25 per dollar.
Sheikh Mehran, head of trading at I&M Bank, said pressure from corporate demand for dollars could soon be offset by any inflows from foreign investors buying a 12-year infrastructure bond, although such support could be temporary.
The bond went on sale on March 4.
"Rest of the week it will be trading sideways," he said of the shilling, echoing comments by other traders who forecast the currency trading in the 91.00/50 range in coming days.
On the stocks market, the NSE20 index fell by a fraction, down 1.53 points or 0.03 percent to 5,371.69 points.
Silha Rasugu, a research analyst at Genghis Capital, said shares had slipped as investors booked profits following the market's climb to six-year highs in recent weeks.
Among the fallers, Equity Bank slipped to 50.50 shillings from 51.50 shillings. The bank announces results on Tuesday before the market opens.
On the secondary market, government bonds valued at 3.7 billion shillings ($40.53 million) were traded, up from 2.3 billion shillings traded on Friday.
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