Reuters
NAIROBI, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Kenya’s shilling, Zambia’s kwacha, Nigeria’s naira and the Ugandan shilling are forecast to lose ground against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, traders said.
KENYA
Kenya’s shilling is expected to weaken due to persistent demand for dollars from the manufacturing and energy sectors.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 149.80/150.00 per dollar, compared with last Thursday’s closing rate of 148.85/149.05. The shilling’s present level – first touched on Wednesday – is a record low, according to LSEG data.
“The shilling is weakening daily. I have seen manufacturing and energy (sectors) buy (dollars),” a trader at one commercial bank said.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha will likely continue trading on the back foot against the dollar next week as demand for petroleum products weighs on the local unit.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa’s second-largest copper producer at 21.79 per dollar from 21.73 a week ago.
“The FX demand pipeline continues to grow, with significant appetite from the energy sector as it stocks up petroleum products,” the local branch of South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) said in a note.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s naira could ease in the coming week on the official and parallel markets after the currency hit record lows amid a central bank pledge to boost dollar supply in the market, which is yet to materialise.
