NAIROBI: The Kenyan and Tanzanian shillings are expected to hold steady in the next week to Thursday, while Ghana's cedi and the Ugandan shilling are seen strengthening, traders said.
KENYA
The Kenyan shilling is expected to remain stable with dollar demand matching supply, as some banks could cut long dollar positions to meet shilling reserve requirements.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.90.101.00 per dollar on Thursday, the same as last week's close.
"Currently there is a truce between demand and supply of dollars. We might experience some banks cutting long dollar positions to acquire shillings," said a commercial bank trader.
TANZANIA
Tanzania's shilling is forecast to hold steady as dollar sales by cashew nut exporters, companies preparing to pay salaries and taxes at the end of the month offset importer demand.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,280/2,290 per dollar, compared with last Thursday's close of 2,285/2,295.
"We don't expect major changes in the shilling in the upcoming week because most of the companies will be offloading their cash to meet overhead expenses like salaries and tax obligations, because it is the end of the month," Barton Hamis, treasurer at Bank ABC, said.
GHANA
Ghana's cedi is seen firmer next week on central bank dollar sales, helped by the proceeds of a three-year domestic bond to be issued on Thursday, analysts said.
The local unit has rallied against the greenback since last week, supported by central bank dollar sales. It was trading at 4.86 to the dollar on Thursday, up from 4.92 a week ago.
The auctions, open to offshore investors, are expected to boost liquidity on the market and may shore up the cedi to a level of 4.84 in the week ahead, a currency analyst said.
UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling is expected to strengthen in the coming days, helped by inflows from offshore investors buying government debt as rising yields woo back foreign interest.
At 1059 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,755/3,765, compared to last Thursday's close of 3,780/3,790.
"As yields rise, we anticipate some offshore investors coming back and this will boost inflows," said Faisal Bukenya, head of treasury at Exim Bank. He said that the shilling was likely strengthen and trade around 3,730/3,740 level. The Bank of Uganda is due to sell 240 billion shillings ($63.91 million) worth of Treasury bonds on Oct. 31.
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