by Bedah Mengo
NAIROBI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling on Tuesday maintained a stronger position against the U.S. dollar hitting an over three-month high.
The local unit ended the day at an average of 103 as analysts noted the shilling had gained due to traders and banks exiting short dollar positions they had taken against the currency before elections.
The Central Bank of Kenya quoted the shilling Tuesday at 103.1, a 0.13 percent rise against the dollar on Tuesday, up from 103.23 in the previous session.
The shilling had gained 0.16 percent on Monday rising from 103.7 where it ended on Friday last week.
The shilling also strengthened against the British Pound trading at 132.86 from 133.14 in the previous session.
"In our view, the shilling should remain relatively stable to the dollar in the short term, supported by Central Bank's activity, with the forex reserve levels currently at 7.4 billion dollars, an equivalent to 4.9 months of import cover," said Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm.
