Kenya's shilling tumbled to a new three-year low against the dollar as customers bought greenbacks in a panic and banks moved to cover short positions. The commercial banks traded the shilling at 76.10/20 from Monday's closing level of 75.75/85.
The shilling weakened by 1.55 shilling on Monday as the negative sentiment caused by the global economic downturn weighed in. The unit weakened to the 76.20/30 level as soon as trade opened on Tuesday but has retraced by 10 cents to current levels as dollar demand dissipated.