Traders expect the Kenyan shilling to weaken next week, with increased oil importer demand outweighing waning dollar inflows, while Ghana's cedi will be stable due to central bank support.
"Against the bulk of importer demand, we're likely to see a slowdown in the foreign investment coming in," a trader at a commercial bank said.
The currency stood at 4.2100 to the dollar on Thursday, said Joseph Biggles Amponsah of Dortis Research in Accra. It touched record lows of 4.7420 last month before recouping lost ground. "For the better part of the month of May, the local currency is expected to remain fairly stable as investor interest in the country deepens. The central bank's activities in the market has also heightened confidence in the cedi," Amponsah said.
Traders said the central bank's resolve to improve liquidity in the forex market has continued to have a positive impact and improved foreign investor confidence in the forex market of Africa's biggest economy. The central bank has been intervening on the official market to try to narrow the spread between the two markets since intervention began in February and has sold about $4 billion, analysts said, a pace they doubt it can sustain.