The Kenyan shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Tuesday as the market awaited resumption of full activities after the festive season. The commercial banks posted the unit at 79.25/35 against the greenback compared with Monday's closing rate of 79.25/45.
"It is a very quiet morning. Most people have not gone back to their offices and traders are watching this first week," said Benson Kaburu, a senior dealer at Standard Chartered Bank. Traders predicted the shilling is likely to remain in a tight range against the dollar for the rest of the week. "We anticipate to trade in a 78.50-79.70 range in the near term," said Bank of Africa in a market report.
The shilling generally moves on changes in demand for dollars from importers in east Africa's largest economy. It benefits from hard currency inflows such as earnings from tourism, agricultural exports, remittances from abroad and foreign investment. Importer demand for dollars and concerns about the political situation can hurt the currency.