Kenya shilling stays in tight range versus dollar

Kenya's shilling was largely unchanged against the US currency on Friday in a thin-trade session, but dealers predicted that it might weaken slightly on banks squaring their positions. Commercial banks posted the local unit at 61.60/70 against the greenback, unmoved from Thursday's closing level of 61.60/70.
"Being a Friday, the market is so thin and range-bound. I expect the shilling to close at 61.65/75 today due to banks squaring their positions," said Friday Mwafuga, head of trading at Co-operative Bank. Dealers said the shilling had earlier strengthened by 10 cents before losing a similar margin. They added that demand and supply were well balanced. The local currency has been well supported at the 61.50 level, trader said.