Kenyan shilling weighed down by high dollar demand

NAIROBI, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling slid against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday after the Easter break to end a rally that it sustained last week.

The local unit traded at an average of 100.90 per dollar, down from 100.85 on Thursday last week before the market broke for Easter holiday.

The Central Bank of Kenya placed the shilling at 100.89, a slight decline from 100.85 in the Thursday trading session.

Commercial banks in the East African nation, however, quoted the shilling at a much lower position of between 101.00 and 101.20 from 100.80 and 101.00 at the end of last week.

Currency traders attributed the slide to high demand for the dollar by manufacturers and oil traders making purchases.

Against the British pound, the shilling strengthened significantly closing the day at 141.83 from 142.31 on Thursday.

The Kenya shilling appreciated by 2.3 percent against the dollar in the first quarter to close at a new high of 100.80, from 103.20 as at the end of December 2017, driven by positive sentiments due to the receding political risk and increased inflows. Enditem