African currencies week ahead: Kenyan, Ugandan shillings to ease, Ghana cedi to hold steady

Kenya's and Uganda's shillings are expected to weaken against the dollar in the week to next Thursday, while Ghana's cedi will hold steady, traders said.
KENYA - The Kenyan shilling is expected to weaken due to end-month dollar demand from oil and retail goods importers. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.60/80 per dollar, compared with 101.15/35 at last Thursday's close. "Towards end of month there is demand in the market ... the market has touched its low of 100.8 and now is going up - importers are coming back to buy so demand is picking up."
UGANDA - The Ugandan shilling is seen trading with a weakening bias as demand for dollars from manufacturing and energy sector importers and commercial banks weighs. "A bit of pressure will come from this demand and some banks that we have also seen trying to cover short positions," one trader said. At 0952 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,640/3,650, weaker than last Thursday's close of 3,630/3,640. The Tanzanian shilling is seen in a broadly stable range in the days ahead, helped by subdued demand for dollars from importers. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,247/2,257 to the dollar on Thursday, stronger than 2,253/2,258 a week ago. "I see the shilling trading at the same levels next week due to soft demand for U.S dollars from major importers," said a trader at Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) Tanzania.
GHANA - Ghana's cedi is seen steady next week as central bank dollar sales meet corporate demand, an analyst said. The local currency was quoted at 4.4650 to the greenback on Thursday compared to 4.4850 a week ago. "As the corporate demand is projected to be tame and Bank of Ghana continues to intervene to keep prices in check, we expect the pair to trade within the 4.465 to 4.480 band in the week ahead," said Raphael Adubila of Accra-based Northstar Home Finance.
NIGERIA - The naira is likely to remain stable, supported by central bank intervention and as proceeds of a recent Eurobond issue help to boost reserves. Nigeria sold $2.5 billion Eurobond last Thursday to help refinance some of its maturing treasury bills rather than roll them over as it has done in the past. On the official market, the naira was quoted at around 306.50, supported by the central bank. It traded at 360 per dollar for investors.
ZAMBIA - The kwacha is expected to remain rangebound due to increased demand for dollars and an improving supply of hard currency companies convert to pay month-end obligations such as salaries. On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa's second-largest copper producer at 9.8500 per dollar, from 9.7500 a week ago. "It will more or less continue to trade within the current levels," independent financial analyst Maambo Hamaundu said, referring to the kwacha.