Kenya shilling climbs up on rise in dollar inflows
Xinhua, April 11, 2017 Adjust font size:
The Kenya shilling climbed up by 0.05 percent Tuesday boosted by increased U.S. dollar inflows amid low demand from oil traders.
The shilling has been under pressure since the start of the month dropping to 103.5 against the dollar following increased dollar demand from oil importers.
The Central Bank of Kenya on Tuesday however quoted the shilling at 103.3 against the dollars, with traders in commercial banks noting the local unit had received support from diaspora remittances and inflows from non-governmental organizations.
On Monday, the currency too rose by a similar margin (0.05 percent) with traders noting there was rise in dollar inflows.
As the shilling faces pressure, the Central Bank has enough reserves to cushion the local unit, but it has not intervened in the money market so far.
Kenya's gross foreign exchange reserves now stand at a new high of over 8 billion dollars boosted by inflows from external lenders.
"These reserves provide an adequate buffer against short-term shocks," noted the CBK's Governor Patrick Njoroge last week.
Analysts expect that in the coming weeks, the shilling would continue to come under intense pressure due to global strengthening of the dollar and recovery of global oil prices. Endit