NAIROBI: Kenya's shilling weakened to a new three-year low on Monday, as traders said they were watching for any action the central bank might take during the session to support the currency.
At 0800 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 93.15/35, compared with 92.95/93.05 at Friday's close.
The shilling was last at that level in November 2011.
"Everyone is waiting to see what will be the action of the central bank," said Sheikh Mehran, head of trading at I&M Bank.
The central bank has previously sold dollars to protect the currency, and has regularly mopped up excess liquidity to make it costlier to hold dollars.
Kenya's central bank sold an unspecified amount of dollars to commercial banks last Tuesday after the shilling hit an intra-day low of 92.82/92.
A second trader at a major Kenyan commercial bank said Kenya's faltering tourism sector, a key earner of hard currency, had also put pressure on the currency.
"The supply side remains constrained," the trader said, referring to a trickle of hard currency.
The shilling has lost 3.1 percent to the dollar so far this year.
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