Tuesday, 10 November 2015 13:43
NAIROBI: Kenya’s shilling was steady in early trading on Tuesday with demand for dollars from energy firms and other importers met by the central bank’s dollar sales in the previous session.
Traders said falling yields on government debt, which is discouraging offshore investor appetite for the paper, could push the shilling lower unless the central bank intervened again to supply more foreign exchange to the market.
At 0648 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 102.15/35 to the dollar, little changed from Monday’s close of 102.25/35.
“There is demand (for dollars) in the market,” said one dealer at a commercial bank, citing demand from energy firms and general importers. “They want to buy their dollars before the market moves against them.”
The shilling has recently been supported by inflows of dollars from offshore investors chasing high-yielding government debt. But yields tumbled last week, slowing offshore appetite.
The yield on 91-day paper slid below 14 percent from nearly 20 percent a week before.
