NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling was steady early on Wednesday, supported by tea exporters selling dollars, but traders expect it to come under pressure from foreign investors exiting the stock market.
At 0727 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 85.00/20 per dollar, barely changed from Tuesday's close of 84/95/85.15.
"Tea dollar are trickling into the market and this has provided some support for the shilling," said a trader at one commercial bank.
"But a sell-off on the equities market could see foreigners come in to buy dollars. The shilling could weaken again on that."
Tea is Kenya's leading foreign currency earner and is sold in the port city of Mombasa every Monday and Tuesday. Exporters typically then convert their earnings into shillings to pay farmers and cover operational expenses.
Profit taking on a stock's rally that has seen the main NSE-20 share index gain about 20 percent this year, pushed the index 1.4 percent lower on Tuesday.
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