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Staff of Reuters 3 Minutes to Read Reuters, NAIROBI, July 15 – Kenya’s currency is expected to lose ground against the US dollar next week, while the currencies of Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia remain stable. KENYA The Kenyan shilling is projected to face pressure in the coming week as the market’s demand for dollars rises. The shilling was quoted at 108.05/108.25 by commercial banks, up from 107.85/108.05. on Thursday. “I expect demand (for dollars) to increase in the coming week,” a dealer at one of the commercial banks said. NIGERIAN Due to an approaching bank holiday and weak liquidity, traders expect the naira to remain flat on the official and parallel markets next week. On Thursday, the currency was quoted at 411 naira on the spot market, maintaining its trading range of 407 naira to 412 naira since last month. On the black market, it stayed constant at a more than 3-1/2-year low of 505 naira recorded last week on the informal market. TANZANIA Tanzania’s shilling is projected to remain stable as dollar inflows from everyday corporate operations and retail businesses keep pace with demand. The shilling was quoted at 2,314/2,324 against the dollar by commercial banks, unchanged from last Thursday’s close. “We expect demand and inflows to come from corporate and retail firms’ regular operations,” a trader at a Dar es Salaam commercial bank said. UGANDA The Ugandan shilling is projected to remain stable, with inflows from commodity exporters such as coffee assisting in absorbing demand from product importers. The shilling was quoted at 3,545/3,555 by commercial banks, down from 3,550/3,560 by last Thursday’s close. “We have solid inflows from commodities like coffee, and they’ll soak up any importer demand that comes through,” said a trader at one commercial bank, who predicted it would trade in the 3,540-3,560 range next week. ZAMBIA The kwacha is expected to remain stable against the dollar next week, as the market continues to witness moderate hard currency supply and demand. Commercial banks put the currency of Africa’s second largest copper producer at 22.6350 per dollar on Thursday, up from 22.6200 a week ago at the close of business. In a note, pan-African commercial bank Access Bank indicated that “interim trends suggest that the rate is expected to trade between 22.650 and 22.850 in the near to medium term.” (Omar Mohammed, Chijioke Ohuocha, Nuzulack Dausen, Elias Biryabarema, and Chris Mfula contributed reporting; Chris Mfula compiled the story; XXX XXX edited it.)/nRead More

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