The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on Friday revealed the shilling's position against the dollar amidst reports that the local currency weakened for five consecutive days.
In its weekly bulletin released on Friday, April 19, CBK stated that the shilling had stabilised against the dollar, a statement contrary to that of traders who alleged the shilling had weakened.
"The Kenya Shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies during the week ending April 18," read part of a statement by CBK in its weekly bulletin.
According to CBK, as of April 18, the local currency traded at Ksh131.37 per US dollar compared to Ksh130.39 per US dollar on April 11.
The report by CBK indicated a 0.98 variance in the exchange rate of the shilling against the dollar between the period of April 11 and April 18.
However, the traders had quoted the shilling at 133 against the dollar as of April 19 as they projected a further drop due to several external factors.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, April 17, commercial banks quoted the Shilling at 132 against the Dollar, compared to Tuesday’s closing rate of 131.
On Monday, April 15, commercial banks quoted the Shilling at 130 per Dollar, compared with Friday's close of 129.50.
The weakening of the shilling during the week under review was attributed to pressure on dollar demand from the fuel importers and manufacturing sector.
The Shilling experienced the pressure that came about due to the high demand for the dollar by the manufacturers who sought to purchase raw materials for production.
In March, the local currency was ranked as the best-performing currency globally after it gained by 20 per cent against the green buck.
Several factors caused the stability including the sale of infrastructure bonds, the partial buyback of the Ksh310 billion ($2 billion) and the hike in diaspora remittances.
