Kenyan shilling weakens on uptick in energy sector demand

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Kenyan shilling lost ground on Tuesday due to dollar demand from players in the energy sector and importers of merchandise, traders said.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 107.15/35 per dollar, compared with 107.05/25 at Monday's close.

The shilling weakened slightly on Monday due to an uptick in dollar demand from merchandise importers after government begun a phased easing of coronavirus-induced movement restrictions last week, traders said.

Commercial banks on Monday quoted the shilling at 107.10/30 per dollar, compared with 107.00/20 at Friday's close.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its next rate-setting meeting on July 29, the bank said on Tuesday.

At its last meeting in June, the bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged for the second time in two months at 7.0 per cent.