Bank of Uganda sells dollars to boost shilling ahead of Christmas

Kenya: Uganda's Central Bank sold dollars yesterday to relieve pressure on the shilling created by demand for the US currency, although traders said the outlook was still bearish.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,770/2,780 at the opening of business, the same as Tuesday's close, as it recovered from an early morning low of 2,785/2,795 that triggered Bank of Uganda's intervention. The Central Bank announced its intervention on Thomson Reuters terminals but did not disclose how much hard currency it was pumping into the market.

 "Pressure was coming from a continuation of the strong demand from commercial banks that started yesterday," said Faisal Bukenya, head of market making at Barclays Bank. "There's also still strong corporate demand out there, which will keep the shilling's tone bearish." -Reuters