The currencies of Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia are all expected to remain range-bound in the coming week.
NIGERIA - The naira is seen stable next week at 362 to the dollar, a support level where it has traded for more than a week, supported by dollar supplies from foreign investors and exporters.
Traders said foreign investors were buying short-term treasury notes for yields, while exporters were selling their sales proceeds on the over-the-counter market, boosting liquidity.
The naira touched 361.85 per dollar during the week, on the over-the-counter market, one trader said. At currency bureaus it was quoted at 363 and at 306.80 on the official market, which is supported by the central bank.
KENYA - The Kenyan shilling is seen as stable due to inflows from diaspora remittances and offshore investors buying government debt, meeting increased demand from oil importers.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.20/40 per dollar, compared with 101.60/80 at last Thursday's close. "There has been a lot of foreign investor interest in the stock market, combined with remittances, the supply is able to take care of demand from the manufacturing and energy sector," one senior commercial bank trader said.
UGANDA - The Ugandan shilling is seen trading in a stable range on the back of inflows from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) looking to pay salaries and off-shore investors participating in a planned Treasury auction.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,685/3,695, to the dollar compared to last Thursday's close of 3,710/3,720. "There are a lot of inflows from NGOs and we also have an auction coming up, which we anticipate will attract significant inflows," said Robert Mpuuga, head of treasury at Bank of Africa. The shilling was forecast to trade in the 3,680-3,710 range in the next one week, he said.
TANZANIA - The Tanzanian Shilling is expected to hold steady as traders anticipate the central bank selling dollars to meet demand.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,307/2,317 against the dollar compared with last Thursday's close of 2,300/2,310. "The central bank requested us to submit our requirements and we are waiting for that ... the shilling will still hold steady and we expect it to be at 2,315/2,325 levels," a trader at one commercial bank said.
ZAMBIA - The kwacha is expected to remain stable in the week ahead, supported by an inflow of US dollars from corporates buying the local unit to make payments at the end of the month.
At 1143 GMT on Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa's second-largest copper producer at 11.9540 per dollar from last week's close of 11.9000.
"We anticipate the local unit to remain stable on the back of month end flows to meet local currency obligations by the corporates," Zambia National Commercial Bank said in a note.
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