NAIROBI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling weakened on Wednesday slightly pulled down by sustained U.S. dollar demand from retail importers.
The shilling closed Wednesday at an average of 102.9, a decline from the previous session as a tough political climate in the East African nation too weighed down on the currency.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) quoted the currency at 102.89 after losing from 102.70 on Tuesday, with the shilling gravitating towards the 103 mark.
Commercial banks, on the other hand, put the value of the shilling to the dollar at between 102.80 and 103.0, as traders cited an increase in dollar demand from oil importers.
The demand had outweighed inflows from various sectors including horticulture, thus putting pressure on the shilling which is also being burdened by political uncertainty in the East African nation.
Against the British pound, the shilling also weakened to trade at 136.40 on Wednesday from the previous day's 135.5.
However, even as the shilling faces pressure, Kenya has strong forex reserves position to cushion the local unit. Central Bank data indicated Wednesday that the reserves stand at 7.5 billion dollars or an equivalent to five months of import cover.
While they have been on the decline from 8.3 billion dollars where they peaked in April, the decline is not worrying level, according to analysts. Enditem
