Nigeria's naira and some other African currencies are expected to stay broadly stable over the coming week as the tempo of business slows ahead of Christmas festivities but Ghana's cedi could strengthen, helped by flows from commodity sles.
"There should be little pressure in the currency market in the coming days because many businesses are already winding down their operations," a currency changer told Reuters. Nigerians living abroad who will be visiting home for the holidays are also expected to bring in hard currency inflows and offer extra support to the naira.
At 1030 GMT the cedi was quoted at 4.14 to the dollar, compared with 4.22 a week ago. Analyst Joseph Biggles Amponsah of the Accra-based Dortis Research said the cedi would "extend its gains in the coming week to trade below 4.1000 and towards the 4.0000 levels".
At 1214 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,600/3,610, stable from last Thursday's close. Bank of Uganda, the central bank, removed a total of 831 billion shillings ($230.51 million) from the interbank market via a 7-day repo. "I see the local unit playing in a stable range but probably inclined toward the strengthening side," said a trader from a leading commercial bank who added the mop-up would trim appetite for the greenback among banks.
"Activity in the market has slowed. The kwacha has traded in the 9.850/9.900 range over the past few weeks and should remain in the current range as we go into 2017," the Zambian branch of South Africa's First National Bank (FNB) said in a note.