Ugandan shilling steady as banks trim dollar positions

KAMPALA: The Ugandan shilling was steady on Thursday, supported by commercial banks which have been trimming long dollar positions.

At 0903 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,460/3,470, from Wednesday's close of 3,465/3,475.

"It's now useless to keep long dollar positions, players are exiting those positions because ... clients are not buying (dollars)," said Charles Icadu, trader at Ecobank Uganda.

Icadu said some banks were staying on the sidelines as they await a central bank rate decision in mid-February for clues on the local currency's next direction.