Ugandan shilling edges up as banks sell dollars

KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling inched up on Friday after banks sold dollars due to sluggish importer demand for the greenback.

At 0918 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,450/3,460, slightly up from Thursday's close of 3,455/3,465.

"Banks are selling off whatever (dollar) flows are coming through," said Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank.

Bukenya said the central bank had mopped up excess liquidity on Friday via a seven-day repurchase agreement (repo), a move that was likely to support the local, by making it a bit more expensive to hold dollars.