RTRS:Kenyan shilling steady vs dollar, stronger euro supports
NAIROBI, July 22 (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was
steady against the dollar on Friday as profit taking offset
early gains triggered by improving risk appetite and a rise in
the euro after euro zone leaders announced a new bailout for
Greece.
The euro rallied on Thursday on news that Europe would
create a fund to make cheap loans to Greece and other heavily
indebted governments in the euro zone.
At 0712 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at
89.90/90.00, Thursday's closing level. It had touched 89.75/85
in early trade.
"There was some gain on the shilling at the open on the back
of a stronger euro and other offshore currencies after details
of the Greece bailout came out," said Dickson Magecha, a trader
at Standard Chartered Bank.
"The shilling lost some of the gains on profit
taking."
Typically, when the euro strengthens against the dollar, it
boosts the shilling as risk appetite improves, encouraging
investors to buy into emerging market assets.
Traders said they expected the shilling to trade in the
89.50-90.50 range on Friday.
"Going forward, we expect the shilling to remain hemmed
within a tight range as the market remains evenly balanced,"
Bank of Africa said in a daily report to clients.
"However, continued strong gains in the euro internationally
could support the shilling."