Price hikes loom as forex reserves set to hit 11-year low

The country's pot of foreign currencies has been declining. [iStockphoto]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Kenya's foreign exchange reserves (forex) to fall below the four-month import cover for the first time since August 2011.

In what signals tough times ahead, the IMF projects in its latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa that Kenya's forex-assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies-will be enough to cover only 3.9 months of the country's import needs by the end of this year, down from 4.4 months last year.