The shilling was trading at 85.15/25 to the dollar at 0739 GMT, a touch weaker than Wednesday's close of 85.05/25.

"Sentiment still points to a weaker shilling. We've seen dollar demand from telecoms and energy guys while inflows are still low," said Solomon Alubala, head of trading at Co-operative Bank.

Technical analysis charts showed the shilling's support level at 85.50, and traders said if it were to cross that, it could weaken to touch the 86.00 level.

The shilling is up just 0.1 percent against the dollar this year.

It had gained as much as 2 percent in the first half of the year due to a credit squeeze after the central bank held interest rates at an ultra high 18 percent for seven months, but started falling in July after policymakers started monetary easing as inflation fell.