NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling eased on Thursday due to some importer dollar demand and some investors who were unable to buy government securities buying the greenback, traders said. At 0800 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.65/75 to the dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 101.40/50.
“The shilling is a touch weaker compared to yesterday. There’s slight corporate demand, end of month demand,” a senior trader at one commercial bank said. Typically at the end of the month, companies from sectors like manufacturing, telecommunications and energy come to the market seeking dollars.
A second trader said the shilling also eased due to some foreign investors who missed out on buying Treasury bills on Wednesday buying dollars. The auction for two Treasury bills worth 8 billion shillings attracted bids 60.1 billion shillings. The central bank accepted 12.67 billion shillings.
“We had some foreigners who had gone in, so they missed out. So some of them are converting the Kenyan shilling to dollars,” the trader said. The high yields of above 20 percent have attracted foreigners to Kenya’s auctions in recent weeks and in turn lifted the shilling.
