BLBG:Kenya Shilling Falls 1st Day in 3 as Oil Importers Seek Dollars
Kenya’s shilling fell for the first time in three sessions as oil importers and energy companies increased purchases of dollars to settle month-end payments.
The currency of East Africa’s largest economy declined 0.2 percent to 86.05 a dollar by 1:06 p.m. in the capital, Nairobi. A close at that level would be the lowest since Dec. 19 and the largest one-day slide in two weeks.
“The main reason the shilling is weakening is demand from the energy and oil sectors because it’s the end of the month and many people are back to work after the Christmas holidays,” Robert Gatobu, a foreign-exchange dealer with Nairobi-based Bank of Africa Ltd., said in a phone interview.
Uganda’s currency depreciated 0.9 percent to 2,683 a dollar, poised for its weakest on a closing basis since Dec. 10. The Tanzanian shilling declined less than 0.1 percent to 1,582 a dollar.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net
