eBusiness Weekly
Kenya’s embattled currency is on course for its longest streak of gains since May 2021.
The shilling strengthened against the dollar on Wednesday for a fourth straight session, paring its losses since the beginning of last year to 25 percent.
Local demand for dollars is subdued, while hard-currency inflows are bolstering the shilling, according to Nairobi-based NCBA Bank Kenya Plc.
“We expect the volatility on the local currency to ease — albeit marginally — due to a narrowing balance of payments deficit, supported by stabilising dollar inflows from tourist arrivals, diaspora remittances and key export-earning sectors,” Nairobi-based AIB-AXYS Africa said in a note.
Rising external debt-service commitments, coupled with a ballooning import bill, continue to pose downside risks for the shilling, according to the brokerage.
The currency traded 0,4 percent higher at 160,60 against the dollar at 11:49 a.m. local time.
Kenya’s foreign-exchange reserves during the week ending January 25 rose to US$7,02 billion from US$6,81 billion the previous week, as the East African nation borrowed US$210 million from the Trade & Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund approved a US$685 million loan. — Bloomberg
