Kenyan shilling rises to new high against dollar

NAIROBI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling hit a new high against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday supported by inflows from the agriculture sector and debt market.

The shilling traded at an average of 100.85 per dollar, an increase from 100.90 in the Tuesday session as the currency gained momentum.

The Central Bank of Kenya quoted the shilling at 100.86, a major increase from 100.91 in the Tuesday trading session.

The East African nation's commercial banks placed the shilling at higher margins of between 100.75 and 100.95, up from 100.80 and 101.10.

Forex traders noted that the inflows had maintained a steady climb thus helping to stabilize the shilling which analysts had warned would be affected by high dollar demand from manufacturers and oil traders.

However, against the British Pound, the shilling continued to weaken, standing at 142.79 from 143.37 on Tuesday.

Besides high forex reserves that stand at 8.8 billion dollars and surge in inflows, analysts have attributed the shilling gains to the weakening of the dollar in the global markets as indicated by the U.S. Dollar Index, which shed 9.9 percent in 2017, and has shed 2.9 percent year to date, according to Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm. Enditem