Since President William Ruto took office, the shilling's performance against the US dollar became a keen focus among Kenyans following the rise in the cost of living.
Between September 2022 and January 2024, the shilling kept oscillating between Ksh120 to Ksh160 against the green buck.
The situation painted a grim picture of the country's economy which was in jeopardy due to the increased depreciation of the local currency.
Nonetheless, Ruto's administration's successful Eurbond buyback caused the shilling to register a significant gain in successive months.
Kenyans.co.ke takes a look at the timeline of the shilling's performance since Ruto's administration took office.
Shilling Trades at Ksh120
During former President Uhuru Kenyatta's era, the shilling traded from an average of Ksh110, with the rate soaring to Ksh120 before his tenure came to a close.
Shilling Freefall
Barely a month after Ruto took office, experts projected that the shilling would depreciate for 15 months straight against the dollar as the US currency kept strengthening on the international market. At the time, the shilling rose from Ksh113 to Ksh120.
The concerns were reflected in a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which indicated that the shilling was overvalued by 17.5 per cent.
The situation became grim after the shilling dropped to extremely low levels.
Dollar hoarding
By the end of December 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) quoted the exchange rate at Ksh156, up from the Ksh135 range that prevailed in the past weeks. This crossed the Ksh160 mark by the end of January 2024.
The freefall caused panic among investors in the FX market, with some opting to hoard the dollars to shield themselves from the weak currency.
During a Parliament briefing in January 2024, CBK Governor Kamau Thugge pointed out that the country had an overvalued exchange rate at the expense of losing international reserves. He, however, projected that the shilling would gain ground in the coming months.
Eurobond Buyback
A month later, the shilling rallied against the US dollar after paying Ksh238 billion to fulfil part of the Ksh310 billion Eurobond set to mature in June 2024.
The move was, however, questioned by critics who pointed out that Ruto's administration opted to settle on a higher rate on its return to the global debt market to finance the debt before the deadline.
Shilling Stabilises
The shilling has since gained ground and is trading at Ksh137.49 as of March 14 2024.
President Ruto expressed confidence that he would not allow the country to plunge into debt distress.
