NAIROBI: Kenya's shilling held steady on Friday, but demand for dollars from energy companies and consumer-goods importers was expected to put the local currency under renewed pressure next week.
At 0800 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 86.95/87.05 to the dollar, compared with Thursday's close of 87.00/10.
"We don't expect much movement up or down," Sheikh Mehran, senior trader at Kenya Commercial Bank, said. "It's going to be stable for today.
"Monday, we might see a bit more activity, some dollar demand,'' Mehran said. We are approaching year-end. You have the shopping season, and normally energy demand is higher in December because more petrol is needed for travel."
The shilling is hovering near the two-month low of 87.20 it reached on Sept 27.
Technical analysis of the 14-day and 50-day weighted moving averages predicted the shilling would continue to weaken.
Traders expect the shilling, which is 0.97 percent weaker against the dollar so far this year, to trade in an 86.60 to 87.20 range in coming days.
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