NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was steady on Thursday with one eye on the crisis in Egypt, and traders said it could weaken in coming sessions as importers buy dollars to pay for their routine end-of-month shipments.
Egypt is one of the biggest buyer of Kenya's top revenue earner, tea, and an ongoing political crisis could hurt the commodity's earnings in coming auctions.
The shilling was posted at 87.40/50 per dollar at 0816 GMT, the same level it closed at on Wednesday.
"Guys have been on the watch out for the crisis in Egypt that's why the shilling has not broken the 87.40 mark," said Sheikh Mehran, a senior trader at Kenya Commercial Bank.
Mehran said the local currency could also come under pressure from importers buying dollars to settle end-of-month payments and investors exiting emerging markets after a U.S Federal Reserve report kept alive expectations that it could cut back its stimulus soon.
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