Kenya's shilling weakens to its lowest level since September 2015

The Kenyan shilling weakened to 104.65/85 per dollar on Thursday, its lowest level in nearly four and a half years, mainly due to concerns about the potential drop of hard currency inflows caused by the new coronavirus outbreak, traders said.
Last Friday, the East African nation confirmed its first case of the coronavirus, causing the shilling to weaken and forcing trading on the Nairobi bourse to be halted after a steep drop.
The confirmed cases have since jumped to seven and the government has shut down schools indefinitely, banned large public gatherings and limited entry into the country for people from countries with high cases of the virus.
Businesses which rely on export markets, like flower growers, have started feeling the heat, deepening the worries in the market about the supply of hard currencies.
"It's becoming a bit chaotic," said a senior trader from one commercial bank. The shilling had closed Wednesday's session at 104.10/30 per dollar and traders said it had also been hit by pressure from foreign investors after global markets slumped.