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Kenyan Shilling Seen Supported By High Debt Yields
A fuel attendant handles Kenyan shilling notes at a petrol station in the capital Nairobi March 15, 2011. PHOTO By Reuters/Noor Khamis.
26/08/2013
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was steady on Monday, with traders expecting the attraction of high-yielding government debt to offset importers' demand for dollars.
The shilling was posted at 87.55/75 per dollar at 0825 GMT, unchanged from Friday's close.
"Some end-month demand could put pressure on the local unit," said Duncan Kinuthia, head of trading at Commercial Bank of Africa.
"But we still don't expect a massive slide as interest rates have been ticking up on the government paper and that could remain supportive for the local unit."
Kenyan debt yields have been rising over the past two months, jumping from 5.10 percent on 91-day paper in late June to 10.46 percent at last week's sale.
Typically, high local interest rates make it attractive for commercial banks to hold shillings and pushes them to cut back on their dollar holdings.
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