African currencies week ahead: Nigeria seen supporting naira, other African currencies steady

14 Aug, 2016

Nigeria's central bank is expected to offer support to the naira with foreign exchange sales next week, while the Ghanaian, Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian currencies are expected to hold steady.
On the official market the naira, which opened on Thursday at 320 per dollar, firmed to close at 310 after the central bank sold the greenback. The currency hit an all-time low of 350 per dollar on Tuesday on the official market.
On the unofficial market, the naira was quoted at 395 to the dollar.
The cedi was trading at 3.9434 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 3.9575 a week ago.
"Buoyed by market liquidity and low demand (for dollars), the cedi is expected to remain relatively stable in the week ahead," said Joseph Biggles Amponsah of Accra-based Dortis Research.
At 0911 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,368/3,378, weaker than last Thursday's close of 3,364/3,374.
"Much of the activity in the coming days will be concentrated on the shilling side for tax payments," said Shahzad Kamaluddin, a trader at Crane Bank.
At 0852 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.45/55 to the dollar, compared with 101.35/45 at the close on Thursday last week.
"Clients are tending to be strategic ... ordering but not executing, waiting for more market information and what they perceive to be favourable rates," said a trader from a commercial bank.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,180/2,190 to the dollar on Thursday, stronger than 2,183/2,193 a week ago.
"There is a slowdown in demand for dollars due to a liquidity tightness on the local currency. The outlook for next week is that the shilling might stay at the same level or slightly strengthen against the dollar," said William Francis, a dealer at Commercial Bank of Africa Tanzania.

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