Ugandan shilling edges down on dollar short-covering

KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling inched down on Wednesday as commercial banks bought dollars to cover short positions, a dealer said.

At 0915 GMT, commercial banks quoted the currency at 2,540/2,550, weaker than Tuesday's close of 2,530/2,540.

Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank, said there were few signs of demand for dollars from corporate clients, meaning the pressure on the shilling was likely to be short-lived.

"We'll likely see most of these banks cover their positions quickly and get out," Bukenya said.

The local currency, he said, was likely to pull back to between 2,520-2,530 in the short term.