Kenyan shilling in major fall against dollar

NAIROBI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling lost ground against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday weighed down by high demand for the greenback and increased liquidity in the market.

The shilling traded against the dollar at an average of 100.50, a major decline from 100.25 in the Tuesday session.

The Central Bank of Kenya quoted the shilling at 100.47 to the dollar, a significant drop from 100.29 on Tuesday.

The East African nation's commercial banks put the shilling at an even lower position of between 100.50 and 100.70 from 100.25 and 100.45 from previous period.

Currency traders attributed the decline to low inflows amid rising dollar demand as liquidity of the shilling increased in the Kenyan market.

Against the British Pound, the shilling strengthened further to close at 135.70 from 135.86 in the previous session.

Analysts expect the shilling to weaken in the short-term against the dollar until the Central Bank mops the excess liquidity in the market through sale of government securities. Enditem