The Kenya Shilling traded at 117.57 per US dollar on June 23th, compared to 117.29 per US dollar on June 16th 2022, a weekly bulletin from the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) shows. The Kenya Shilling has depreciated against the greenback from 117.05 on June 10th 2022 to117.57 against the US$ on 23rd June 2022.
According to analysts at Trade Economics Global, the Kenyan Shilling is expected to trade at 117.44 by the end of this quarter with the local united estimated to trade at 118.00 in 12 months’ time.
Kenya Shilling strength to be affected by upcoming polls
Analysts maintain that the Kenya Shilling depreciating trend will continue in 2022, amplified by election-related uncertainty, which typically saps confidence, likely to affect the Kenya Shilling depending on outcome of the presidential polls- seen as too close to call.
Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves, according to figures from the latest CBK weekly bulletin, declined to US$ 8,028m (4.77 months of import cover) as of June 23rd 2022. This is compared to US$ 8,177m on 26th May 2022 or 4.86 months of import cover and US$ 8,114m or 4.82 months of import cover on 16th June 2022.
While the local unit has been losing round against the US dollar, it has strengthened against other major international currencies, including the Sterling pound and the Euro as shown in the latest CBK weekly bulletin.
SOURCES: THE KENYA WALL STREET
