Shilling set to weaken further- Financial analyst

The Uganda shilling continued to slide touching the lowest level seen in the recent past undermined by strong corporate demand, energy sector and telecoms at the end of the week.

The markets shrugged off Bank of Uganda (BoU) intervention early in the week.

On Friday afternoon, the local unit was trading at a range of 3,622.46/3,632.46 compared to Thursday's close of business of 3,607.67/3,617.67 buying and selling respectively.

In the international currency markets, the US dollar was strong as US bond yields picked up after the thanksgiving holiday.

Stephen Kaboyo, a financial analyst and an ex-Central said Bank executive said the British pound was bullish almost breaking into new highs on the back of solid economic data.

"Outlook indicates the shilling is set for further weakness. The currency will have to contend with a rising dollar due to the big possibility of an interest rate hike in US in December," Kaboyo said.

In the government securities market, BOU auctioned the treasury bills and mopped up the targeted amount of 165 billion.

The auction was oversubscribed and yields edged up across all tenors and came out at 13.426%, 14.201% and 15.342% for 91,182 and 364 day respectively.