NAIROBI: Kenya's shilling weakened slightly on Thursday as the usual end-month corporate demand for dollars outweighed support from foreign exchange inflows after an oversubscribed bond auction.
By 0735 GMT, the shilling was trading at 91.80/92.00 to the dollar, dipping from Wednesday's close of 91.75/85. Traders said it had opened the session slightly firmer at 91.70/80.
"I think the shilling will remain a bit on the back foot as we approach the end of the month," Martin Runo, a senior trader at Chase Bank, referring to the period when companies tend to seek dollars to meet their regular monthly payments.
The shilling was helped in recent sessions by expectations of offshore interest in this week's 12-year infrastructure bond auction. Bids worth more than twice the 25 billion shillings offered were received at Wednesday's sale.
But Runo said much of those foreign exchange inflows had been priced in. The shilling was likely to remain in a range of 91.50 to 92.20 in the next few days, he added.
Other traders also said corporate demand for dollars was starting to pick up.
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