Kenya's and Uganda's shillings are expected to gain ground against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Tanzania's will hold steady, traders said.
KENYA - The Kenyan shilling is forecast to strengthen, supported by inflows from offshore investors buying government bonds and subsiding dollar demand from the energy and manufacturing sectors.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.55/75 per dollar, compared with 100.80/101.00 at last Thursday's close.
"We're not seeing the end-month push for dollars anymore ... there is a higher affinity for investors bidding for bonds," said a trader from one commercial bank.
TANZANIA - Tanzanian shilling is expected to hold steady, with traders forecasting sufficient dollar availability to meet importer demand.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,305/2,315 on Thursday, the same as last Thursday's close.
"The available dollars will at least calm down the current demand in the market which is highly driven by importers," a trader in one commercial bank in Dar es Salaam said.
UGANDA - The Ugandan shilling is expected to strengthen, helped by month-end dollar inflows from charities.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,675/3,685, compared with 3,670/3,680 at last Thursday's close.
"Inflows from NGOs (non-governmental organisations) will keep the local unit biased toward the stronger side," said a trader from a leading commercial bank.
The trader said inflows from other exports like coffee and gold would also help. The two are the east African country's largest exports and top sources of foreign exchange.
ZAMBIA - The kwacha is expected to trade in a narrow range. On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency at 14.7500 per dollar from a close of 14.4770 a week ago.
"The market appears relatively balanced and it is unlikely that there will be any big moves in either direction going into next week," one commercial bank trader said.
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