African currencies week ahead: Kenya's shilling stable in aftermath of polls, Ghana's cedi seen flat

Kenya's local currency is expected to remain stable following the conclusion of its presidential election rerun, while Ghana's cedi is set to trade sideways on the back of waning dollar inflows. NIGERIA: The naira is expected to remain stable across its multiple exchange rates next week as the central bank continues to intervene with dollar sales on the official market to support the currency.
The local unit has been hovering at around 360 naira for investors, the same level as the parallel market. On the official market, the naira has been quoted at around 305 per dollar for more than three months. The central bank injected $195 million on Tuesday and sold treasury bills to keep liquidity tight. Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a draft bill that could ease dollar shortages.
KENYA: The Kenyan shilling is seen steady in the coming week barring any new political developments, with market normalcy resuming following the repeat election, traders said. At 0848 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 103.65/85 per dollar compared with 103.85/95 at last Thursday's close. "Activity is up mainly because of corporate requirements as we wait for the political transition to wind up," said a trader from a commercial bank.
TANZANIA: The Tanzanian shilling is seen holding steady against the U.S dollar over the coming week, buoyed by subdued demand for greenbacks from importers. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,240/2,250 to the dollar on Thursday, barely moved from 2,245/2,250 a week ago. "The shilling has been stable for several months now and we expect it to remain steady on the 2,240-2,250 range over the coming weeks," said a trader at Commercial Bank of Africa Tanzania.
GHANA: Ghana's cedi is seen flat next week as dollar inflows continued to thin out amid a week-long sale of a six billion-cedi ($1.36 bln) government-sponsored energy bonds that ends on Friday, analysts said. The local unit, which has been fairly steady in recent weeks, weakened marginally this week on renewed corporate dollar demand. It was trading at 4.4075 to the greenback at 1107 GMT on Thursday, compared to 4.3752 last week.
"The pair (USD/GHS) appear to be in balance, but the demand for greenback is teeming and we could see a minor rise by close of week," said Joseph Biggles Amponsah, an analyst at the Accra-based Dortis Research. UGANDA: The Ugandan shilling is forecast to trade in a stable range, supported by seasonal remittance inflows from Ugandans living abroad as well as commodity exporters. At 1034 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,647/3,657, little-changed from last Thursday's close of 3,645/3,655.
"We anticipate remittances from those returning for holidays to start flowing in," said David Bagambe, a trader at Diamond Trust Bank, adding flows were also expected from exporters of coffee and other commodities.