Kenya shilling strengthens vs dollar

NAIROBI – The Kenya shilling firmed further against the dollar on Monday on hopes a power-sharing deal can end the crisis in east Africa’s largest economy, dealers said.

At 0845 GMT, commercial banks posted the local unit at 67,55/65 against the US dollar, strengthening from Friday’s close of 67,90/68,00. “The shilling is still riding on the positive sentiment of the agreement signed last week,” said Karisa Yaa, dealer at Kenya Commercial Bank.Kenya’s feuding political parties signed a coalition government deal on Thursday intended to end two months of violence following a disputed December 27 presidential vote.On Friday, Kenya’s shilling neared a one and a half-month high, before some gains were reversed.Dealers said dollar demand from importers has held back the shilling in recent days.”The shilling looks like it should gain more now …we should see a bit of slackening of dollar demand from importers and see the shilling approach the 67,00 mark,” Yaa said.Kenya’s Bureau of National Statistics said yesterday that annual inflation rose to 19,1 per cent in February from 18,2 per cent in January.Nampa-Reuters”The shilling is still riding on the positive sentiment of the agreement signed last week,” said Karisa Yaa, dealer at Kenya Commercial Bank.Kenya’s feuding political parties signed a coalition government deal on Thursday intended to end two months of violence following a disputed December 27 presidential vote.On Friday, Kenya’s shilling neared a one and a half-month high, before some gains were reversed.Dealers said dollar demand from importers has held back the shilling in recent days.”The shilling looks like it should gain more now …we should see a bit of slackening of dollar demand from importers and see the shilling approach the 67,00 mark,” Yaa said.Kenya’s Bureau of National Statistics said yesterday that annual inflation rose to 19,1 per cent in February from 18,2 per cent in January.Nampa-Reuters