KAMPALA, July 25 (Reuters) - The Uganda shilling was stable against the dollar on Monday but traders said the local currency was likely to come under moderate pressure during the week as energy companies buy the greenback to settle end-of-month obligations. At 0835 GMT commercial banks in Kampala quoted the shilling at 2,600/2,610 per dollar, unchanged from Friday's close. Traders said market activity was tepid but U.S. currency purchases by corporates in the energy sector as the month inches to a close were likely weaken the shilling in the next few days. "We're currently frozen at Friday levels but we normally get a rise in dollar demand toward end of month from energy and manufacturing sectors and that's likely to see the shilling drop a bit," said Lucas Ochieng, Treasurer at Orient Bank Uganda. After months of market volatility and sharp losses against the dollar, the Uganda shilling rebounded from an all-time low of 2,710 hit on June 30 and has since hovered around 2,600. "We anticipate this relative stability to continue with occasional slight swings both ways until something fundamental happens like a surge in exports," said a trader with a leading commercial bank in Kampala. He said the market was looking at 2,600 as a key psychological level and that any sharp moves away from it on either side could trigger "instability and possibly central bank action."

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