Shilling edges lower against US dollar
Jun 22, 2008
A SURGE in inter-bank and corporate demand weakened the shilling against the dollar, but dealers said the outlook is for a strong local unit in the coming days,
A SURGE in inter-bank and corporate demand weakened the shilling against the dollar, but dealers said the outlook is for a strong local unit in the coming days, writes Sylvia Juuko.
The local unit opened the week on a high of 1,560/65 to the dollar but shed its gains on Thursday to hit 1,597/1,607 as corporate demand outweighed inflows.
“The rapid losses made by the local currency necessitated intervention by the central bank on the selling side. Major gains made by the dollar were mainly due to increased demand on the corporate counters, causing the shilling to lose more than 30 on Thursday,†Mpanga Epucia, a dealer with Standard Chartered Bank, explained.
The shilling closed trading at 1,595/1,605 per dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday compared to 1,568/1,573 a week ago.
The local unit opened the week on a high of 1,560/65 to the dollar but shed its gains on Thursday to hit 1,597/1,607 as corporate demand outweighed inflows.
“The rapid losses made by the local currency necessitated intervention by the central bank on the selling side. Major gains made by the dollar were mainly due to increased demand on the corporate counters, causing the shilling to lose more than 30 on Thursday,†Mpanga Epucia, a dealer with Standard Chartered Bank, explained.
The shilling closed trading at 1,595/1,605 per dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday compared to 1,568/1,573 a week ago.