Ugandan shilling stable, central bank's actions eyed

KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Monday and traders said it would be stuck in a tight range in the days ahead with an eye on the central bank's actions.

At 0910 GMT, commercial banks quoted the currency at 2,565/2,575, unchanged from Friday's close.

"We're seeing whenever the shilling hits 2,570, demand becomes scarce," said Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank. "(I) am expecting the shilling to remain stable."

Bukenya said the shilling could however firm slightly if the central bank kept mopping up excess liquidity from the money markets, which usually makes it slightly more expensive for banks to hold long dollar positions.

The central bank mopped up 133 billion shillings ($64.16 million) via a seven-day repurchase agreement (repo) on Monday at a weighted average yield of 11 percent.

The shilling has fallen 1.7 percent against the dollar this year to date.