Tuesday February 20, 2024
NAIROBI: Kenya’s shilling firmed on Tuesday, helped by dollar inflows from non-governmental organisations and horticultural produce exporters, traders said.
At 0732 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 144.00/145.00
per dollar, compared with Monday’s closing rate of 145.00/146.00.
The shilling rallied strongly against the dollar in the last two
weeks as the government raised the bulk of the cash it requires to
settle a Eurobond that is maturing in June.
The maturing bond had caused concerns among investors due to its large size.
The rally, however, ran out of steam towards the end of last week
mainly due to what traders said were strong signals by the central bank
that it was not comfortable with the rapid rate of appreciation.
The central bank has not yet commented but it has said in the past
that it has no preferred exchange rate level and that it only intervenes
to smooth out volatility.