African currencies week ahead: Zambia, Tanzania currencies seen under pressure, others stable

The Zambian and Tanzanian currencies are likely to remain under pressure next week as those of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda hold steady.
ZAMBIA - The kwacha will likely remain on the back foot against the US dollar next week, hurt by negative sentiment that COVID-19 could hit the nation's economy. On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa's second-largest copper producer at 17.8200 per dollar, down from a close of 16.9000 a week ago.
"With more cases of the coronavirus unfolding globally and locally, sentiment continues to be sour," the local branch of South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) said in a note.
TANZANIA - Tanzania's shilling is expected to slightly weaken next week due to the continued impact of coronavirus which has disrupted the supply of dollars in the market.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at an average of 2,304/2,314 on Thursday, compared with an average of 2,310/2,315 recorded last week.
"Coronavirus has really affected the market. We expect the shilling to slightly weaken because of the ongoing impact of coronavirus which has also disrupted the supply side," a trader in one of the commercial banks in Dar es Salaam said.
NIGERIA - The naira is seen broadly flat next week after the central bank adjusted the currency rate and as dealers switch to remote trading from home due to the outbreak of coronavirus, traders said on Thursday.
The naira was quoted at 382.73 in the over-the-counter spot market for investors, matching a new low it touched in the previous session, while the currency held steady at 360.50 naira in the official market supported by the central bank.
Nigeria's central bank moved the interbank currency rate to 380 on Friday, from the previous 360. It subsequently adjusted the naira's official rate to 360, weaker than its previous peg of 306, implying a 15% devaluation.
One trader said traders were being asked to work from home instead of going to the office to try to slow the spread of the virus in Africa's most populous nation, which has seen the number of cases rise by the day.
KENYA - The Kenyan shilling is seen stable in the coming week due to receding dollar demand from the manufacturing sector amid potential dollar supply from multinationals and non-governmental organizations, traders said.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 105.80/106.00 per dollar, compared with 105.50/70 at last Thursday's close.
"Our exporters have been unable to export at this particular time... what we hope is that multinationals and non-governmental organizations start selling dollars for their operations, they have dollars but they are not offloading," said a senior trader from one commercial bank.
Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said on Tuesday some of the shilling's recent weakening was caused by market misunderstanding of the bank's plan to increase its reserves by buying dollars from the market, and some "malicious actors".
UGANDA - The Ugandan shilling is expected to trade broadly stable in the coming week as a recent spike in demand slows with traders' fears about the potential damage from the coronavirus outbreak easing.
At 1018 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,880/3,890, compared with last Thursday's close of 3,820/3,830.
A trader at a leading commercial bank said the recent sharp depreciation of the shilling was driven by panic among traders fearing the coronavirus would trigger a large-scale economic collapse. "As panic flickers and goes out, demand will cool off and the shilling will hold in a stable range."