Tuesday, 10 November 2015 20:02
NAIROBI: Kenya’s shilling closed flat on Tuesday after the central bank sold dollars to support the local currency for the second day in a row.
At 1330 GMT market close, the shilling was quoted at 102.25/35 to the dollar, unchanged from Monday’s close.
One Nairobi-based trader said the central bank intervened at least three times during the day, selling small quantities of dollars to keep the local currency pegged on the strong side of 102.50.
“They are sending a sign to the market that they will defend the 102.50 level,” said the trader.
Earlier in the day traders reported dollar demand from energy firms and general importers. The shilling was also hurt by falling yields on government debt, which is reducing offshore investor appetite for the paper.
The shilling, down about 13 percent against the dollar this year, has recently been supported by inflows of dollars from offshore investors chasing high-yielding government debt. But yields tumbled last week.
The yield on 91-day paper slid below 14 percent from nearly 20 percent a week before.
On the equity market, the NSE 20 share index inched down 5.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 3,887.53 points.
In the debt market, bonds worth 1.43 billion shillings ($ 14 million) were traded, compared with the previous session’s 1.37 billion shillings.
