KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling was little changed on Friday, and expected to come under pressure next week as demand for dollars from importers begins to pick up.
At 0834 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,605/2,615, marginally weaker than Thursday's close of 2,603/2,613. Uganda depends on imports for fuel and consumer goods and a surge in shipments typically weakens the shilling.
Traders say merchandise retailers and energy sector players are likely to start building large dollar positions over coming weeks as they prepare to pay for large shipments ahead of the December shopping season.
"We've been getting a lot of inquiries from importers, so there's anticipation of healthy demand going into next week," said Sage Daniel Muganza, trader at Centenary Bank.
Some traders said pressure on the shilling could be cushioned by inflows attracted by yields on Ugandan debt.
Yields on Ugandan debt have been edging up in recent months although at this week's auction rates on 91-day and 364-day paper fell.
The shilling is down 3.2 percent against the dollar so far this year.
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