NAIROBI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling declined marginally against the U.S. dollar Tuesday following increased dollar demand from retail importers.
The heightened demand put pressure on the local unit, pushing it to an average of 103.40 from 103.32 Monday, where it had remained unchanged from the previous week.
The Central Bank of Kenya, however, quoted the shilling at a much stronger level of 103.34.
But commercial banks placed the value of the local unit at between 103.40 and 103.50 as compared to Monday's average of 103.35, with traders noting there was increased dollar demand from oil importers.
On the other hand, Tuesday, the shilling strengthened against the British Pound to stand at a new high of 130.9 from 133.56 the previous day.
However, as the shilling makes big gains against the Pound, going forward, analysts forecast that the local unit would rise against the dollar mainly supported by high inflows.
"The shilling is set to be supported by diaspora remittances and inflows from horticultural exports, offsetting the demand from oil importers." noted Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm. Enditem
