At 0755 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 85.00/20 to the dollar, slightly weaker than Wednesday's close of 84.95/85.15.

"The shilling has weakened a bit due to energy guys demand for dollars," said John Muli, a trader at African Banking Corporation.

The shilling has been stable against the dollar this year helped by a tight monetary stance adopted by the central bank in the final quarter of last year to fight inflation.