NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan and Ugandan shilling are expected to be stable against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Ghana’s cedi and Zambia’s kwacha are seen weakening and Nigeria’s naira could strengthen, traders said.
KENYA
Kenya’s shilling is expected to hold steady, with dollar sales from the central bank helping cushion any demand for dollars, especially from offshore investors.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 132.50/133.50 per dollar, compared with last Thursday’s closing rate of 131.00/132.00.
UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling is seen trading in a stable range, helped by month-end inflows from charities and some commodity exporters, traders said.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,732/3,742, compared to last Thursday’s close of 3,690/3,700.
“Being the last days of the month we expect the usual inflows from (non-governmental organisation) NGOs and also some from coffee exporters and other commodities,” said an independent foreign exchange trader in the capital Kampala.
NGOs typically receive their donations in hard currency and convert some of it at the end of every month to meet monthly expenses like salaries and others.
The trader said the shilling would likely trade in the 3,700-3,740 range against the dollar in the coming week.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s naira could strengthen in the coming week, driven by the central bank’s intervention and improved dollar inflows from foreign investors to a treasury-bill auction.
LSEG data showed the naira was quoted at 1,536 to the dollar on the official market on Thursday, compared with around 1,620 a week ago. The unit sold at about 1,595 on the parallel market on Thursday.
Last week, the central bank sold $106.5 million to 29 authorized dealers at between 1,498 naira and 1,530 naira to start a regular sale of forex to ease demand pressure.
“With the return of central bank’s regular dollar sale to banks and bureau de change operators, liquidity will improve and this will translate to the naira strengthening in the coming weeks,” one trader said.
GHANA
Ghana’s cedi is expected to edge lower next week on persistent demand for dollars from local corporates in the manufacturing and telecommunications sectors.
LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 15.45 to the dollar on Thursday, compared with 15.40 at last Thursday’s close.
“The local unit remained on the back foot this week. Demand from local corporates has begun to ramp up, contributing to the weaker cedi in the week,” Sedem Dornoo, senior trader at Absa Bank Ghana, said.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha is expected to remain under pressure against the dollar next week due to rising demand for hard currency from importers amidst low supply.
On Thursday, the currency of Africa’s second-largest copper producer was quoted at 26.05 per dollar from 25.45 a week ago.
“The local unit is expected to continue facing headwinds against the hard currency if demand persists,” Zambia National Commercial Bank said in a note.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema, Chris Mfula and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
