Kenya's shilling strengthened sightly on Thursday and traders said they expected it to weaken next week due to dollar demand from the manufacturing and energy sectors. At 0626 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 102.20/30 to the dollar, compared with Wednesday's close of 102.25/35. "I have a bias for a weaker shilling. Next week, demand has to pick up. Some companies which closed down for the year which are expected to open on Monday, especially manufacturing, oil," said a trader at one commercial bank.
A second trader said the central bank will be "the elephant in the room" as the shilling comes under pressure next week, since it appears to be protecting against weakening beyond the 102.50 psychological level. The Foreign exchange traders' organisation ACI-Kenya said trade will end at 0930 GMT, instead of the usual 1330 GMT. The shilling, which is 11 percent weaker than the dollar compared to the last day of 2014, has come under pressure due to the global strength of the dollar and weaknesses in Kenya's economy, including a high current account deficit, traders said.