Kenya's shilling sank to new three-year lows against the dollar on Friday as banks covered short dollar positions before a long weekend amid worries about the health of the global economy. The commercial banks posted the unit at 78.15/25 against the dollar compared with Thursday's close of 77.20/30, leaving the shilling down 5.32 percent since the close of last week.
The market will close for a public holiday on Monday. "The market is covering short positions ahead of the long weekend. The bearish momentum of the past few days and negative economic sentiment are still weighing down the shilling," said Co-operative Bank's dealer Stephen Kimani.