Kenya's shilling held steady against the dollar in slow trade on Thursday and traders said they expected it to ease next week due to some demand for the US currency from the energy sector. The commercial banks quoted the local unit at 75.85/95 per dollar, the same as Wednesday's close. Traders forecast the shilling was likely to trade in the 75.00-76.50 range in the days ahead.
"Key drivers (going forward are) energy, oil on the demand side. They (energy sector importers) have been quite active during this Christmas season," said Kennedy Butiko, deputy head of treasury at Bank of Africa. Traders said the shilling had remained under pressure due to tight liquidity in the market on the back of many corporate clients staying out of the market during the holidays.
"There's a bit of pressure on the shilling because of lack of liquidity... once the players come back next week or next week but one, we should see the shilling trading in the ranges of 75.00-76.20," said Moses Kiboi, a senior trader at Citibank.