Monday, 31 August 2015 21:05
NAIROBI: The Kenyan shilling weakened against the dollar on Monday as telecom and energy companies snapped up the US currency to meet their regular end-month demands.
At the 1330 GMT close, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 104.00./10 to the dollar, from Friday’s close of 103.80/90.
“We have some heavy corporate end-month demand,” one Nairobi-based trader said.
The shilling has also come under pressure from global market turmoil, with foreign investors withdrawing funds from emerging markets.
The shilling, down 15 percent against the dollar this year, has been under pressure from the dollar’s strength, Kenya’s high current account deficit and poor tourism inflows after a spate of attacks by Somalia al Shabaab insurgents.
“We expect it to weaken from the continuing imbalance of demand and supply locally,” the trader said. “If we break 104 convincingly, then 105 is in sight this week.”
The NSE 20 index closed 75.92 points higher at 4176.59 points. Shares for the telecom Safaricom, the biggest stock on the bourse by market capitalisation, were up .25 shillings to close at 14.40 shillings per share.
