Tuesday, March 26, 2024 - The Kenyan shilling edged higher against the dollar in thin trade on Tuesday, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data showed.
On Tuesday, the shilling was
trading at 131.00/132.00 to the greenback, slightly firmer than its Monday’s
close of 131.50/132.50.
The shilling is trading near a
one-year high, up about 20% against the dollar in 2024, making it one of the
world’s best-performing currencies this year.
The exemplary performance of the
Kenya shilling has been attributed to the Sh $1.5 billion Eurobond issuance
that was met with strong demand from both foreign and domestic investors.
This was an important
development in foreign exchange markets because traders – and the World Bank –
had feared that Kenya could default on a debt repayment of $2 billion in June.
However, with this successful
entry into international debt markets, this is unlikely now to happen, removing
a major risk factor that had loomed over shilling markets.
Furthermore, the Kenyan
government also received almost $2 billion in demand for a shilling-denominated
bond of $500 million, which could suggest further capital inflows that would
prop up the value of the shilling.
These two factors have improved
sentiment in Kenyan forex markets and indicated that the currency could find
more support on a technical level.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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