NAIROBI, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling on Tuesday remained largely unchanged against the U.S. dollar despite rising political tension gripping the East African nation.
The shilling traded at an average of 103.2 against the greenback, a position it stood on Monday after strengthening slightly, even as protests for and against electoral reforms ahead of the Oct. 26 repeat elections rocked the capital Nairobi.
The Central Bank on Tuesday quoted the local currency to the dollar at 103.27, from the previous day's 103.26.
On the other hand, commercial banks placed the value of the shilling against the dollar at between 103.25 and 103.45 as traders in the institutions noted increased dollar demand from importers as the month nears the end.
The shilling also strengthened against the British Pound, albeit marginally, closing Tuesday at 139.18, from 139.47 in the previous session.
The Kenya shilling depreciated against the dollar by 0.4 percent last week to close at 103.3, from 102.9 of the previous week, due to high dollar demand from oil importers and manufacturers amidst heightened political activity.
Despite the negative political environment, analysts noted that the shilling would remain relatively stable to the dollar in the short-term, supported by both the weakening of the dollar on the global markets and the central bank's activity on the money market amid sufficient forex reserves, currently at 7.5 billion dollars. Enditem
