BLBG:Kenyan Shilling Falls as Businesses Increase Demand for Dollars
Kenya’s shilling weakened, paring yesterday’s gains, on increased demand for dollars by businesses looking to capitalize on the currency’s strength.
The currency of East Africa’s biggest economy depreciated as much as 0.3 percent and traded 0.1 percent weaker at 82.55 by 1:04 p.m. in Nairobi. The shilling stood at 82.13 per dollar on March 13, its highest level in more than a year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
“The shilling has weakened on increased demand as businesses accumulate the recent gains it had made,” Bernard Matimu, chief dealer at Nairobi based NIC Bank Ltd. (NICB), said in a phone interview today.
Tanzania’s shilling moved between gains and losses, weakening as much as 0.6 percent and trading 0.1 percent lower at 1,595 per dollar as of 1:26 p.m. The curency’s highest intraday level is 0.4 percent stronger at 1,588.5 per dollar.
“The shilling has depreciated today on increased demand and the central bank has slowed its support for the local currency,” Hakim Sheik, a trader with Commercial Bank of Africa Tanzania Ltd., said by phone today from Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital.
The Ugandan shilling appreciated for the first time in seven days. The currency of the third-biggest economy in East Africa appreciated 0.3 percent to 2,475 per dollar.
-- With assistance from David Malingha Doya in Dar es Salaam. Editors: Ash Kumar, Peter Branton
To contact the reporter on this story: Johnstone Ole Turana in Nairobi at jturana@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net
