Traders at the Muthurwa market in Nairobi counting money on March 19, 2020 after the day’s sale. The Kenyan shilling exchanged at a record low of Sh109.3 against the US dollar on Thursday, sliding past the worst record of October 2011. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP Stanbic Bank was selling the greenback at Sh109.38 at midday Thursday while Co-operative Bank was selling at Sh107.85, Equity Bank (Sh107.45) and GT Bank (Sh107).
This unnerved an already shaky forex market that is still trying to deal with the uncertainty over the economic fallout from Covid-19.
On average, the mean exchange rate for the dollar was Sh104.2 on Wednesday.
The Kenyan shilling has taken a major hit from the coronavirus pandemic. In Thursday’s trading, it exchanged at a record low of Sh109.3 against the dollar, sliding past the worst record of October 2011.
A spot check by the Nation showed that most commercial banks in Nairobi’s city centre were buying the dollar at an average of Sh98 and selling it at Sh107 and more in what has sent the local currency tumbling past its worst performance in the past decade.
Stanbic Bank was selling the greenback at Sh109.38 at midday Thursday while Co-operative Bank was selling at Sh107.85, Equity Bank (Sh107.45) and GT Bank (Sh107).
Currency dealers said the demand for the greenback was triggered by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which has been actively buying dollars, worth Sh40 billion, from the Kenyan market to build its war-chest when the worst comes.
DEMAND AND SUPPLY
This unnerved an already shaky forex market that is still trying to deal with the uncertainty over the economic fallout from Covid-19.
“Most of the demand is coming from the CBK and the law of demand and supply is what has seen the Kenyan shilling weaken,” a currency dealer at a bank on Kimathi Street, who sought anonymity, told the Nation.
As part of measures to deal with speculation, CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge has been running roughshod over currency dealers who were talking to journalists about the performance of the currency on the record. Today, many currency dealers only agree to speak on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
On average, the mean exchange rate for the dollar was Sh104.2 on Wednesday.This is the second week the shilling is losing ground against the US dollar after Kenya confirmed its first case of the […]
