KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling posted gains on Monday, buoyed by an interbank sell-off of hard currency and dollar inflows from commodity exporters and from Ugandans abroad.
At 0925 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,465/3,475, firmer than Friday's close of 3,475/3,485.
"Corporate appetite is flat and that's triggering an offloading of dollars in the interbank," said Ahmed Kalule, trader at Bank of Africa Uganda.
"On the other hand the market is receiving inflows from a mix of exporters and diaspora Ugandans."
The east African country is Africa's leading exporter of coffee and also exports tea, tobacco and cocoa.
The shilling is 20.1 percent weaker against the greenback so far this year.
Broadly, traders expect its trading to remain bearish in the coming months with investors concerned about a ballooning current account and fiscal deficits.
Fears over the possibility of political instability ahead of elections in February next year is also weighing negatively on the shilling's outlook.
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