Kenya Shilling buckled further against the US Dollar Monday, with only o.25 units shy of hitting the 118 level.
Data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows the shilling traded at 117.75, a 0.6 percent drop in 20 days when it hit 117 levels.
This is partly attributable to increased dollar demand from the oil and energy sectors.
On a year-to-date basis, the shilling has depreciated by four percent against the dollar compared to the 3.6 percent depreciation recorded in 2021.
Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves, according to figures from the latest CBK weekly bulletin, declined to US$ 8,02 billion (4.77 months of import cover) as of June 23, 2022. This is compared to US$ 8,1 billion on May 26, 2022 or 4.86 months of import cover and US$ 8.1 billion or 4.82 months of import cover on 16th June 2022.
While the local unit has been losing ground against the US dollar, it has strengthened against other major international currencies, including the Sterling pound and the Euro as shown in the latest CBK weekly bulletin.
