East African currencies fell against US dollar in April

The currencies for Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania in April 2025 depreciated against the US dollar, the latest report by Uganda’s finance ministry indicates.

The performance of the economy report for April 2025 says the Ugandan, Kenyan, and Tanzanian shillings depreciated by 0.04%, 0.16%, and 1.69%, respectively, while the Rwandan and Burundian Francs posted depreciation rates of 0.32% and 0.16%, respectively, against the US dollar.

“This overall depreciation was attributed to the global strengthening of the US dollar,” it says.

The Ugandan Shilling, which was relatively stable in April, depreciated slightly by 0.04% against the US dollar to an average mid-rate of shillings 3,669.18, from 3,667.63 in March 2025.

The report also says the Central Bank Rate (CBR) remained unchanged at 9.75% in April 2025 to ensure price stability and keep core inflation around the 5% target.

The CBR is the rate at which the Bank of Uganda lends to commercial banks, which in turn lend to the public at interest.

In March 2025, the average lending rate for shilling-denominated loans fell to 17.74% from 18.76% in February 2025, largely due to increased lending to low-risk prime borrowers.

Conversely, the lending rate for foreign currency loans rose slightly to 8.51% from 8.30% over the same period.