NAIROBI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling was largely unmoved against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the country waited for the start of the hearing of presidential election petitions at the Supreme Court.
The shilling traded at an average of 103.60 against the greenback, the same level it stood at the end of Tuesday.
The Central Bank of Kenya placed the local unit at 103.61, from 103.62 on Tuesday, a gain of 0.01 percent against the dollar.
Commercial banks in the east African nation, on the other hand, quoted the currency at between 103.55 and 103.75, with the margins remaining unchanged.
Traders at financial institutions attributed the unmoved currency to the shilling waiting for directions from the Supreme Court, adding that it may be affected in the coming days by rising demand of dollars from importers.
Against the British Pound, the shilling weakened by 0.11 percent to close at 135.97 from 135.82, sustaining a negative trend that started Monday.
On a year-to-date basis, the shilling has depreciated against the dollar by 1.2 percent.
This comes as importers accumulated dollars due to increased political uncertainty surrounding the elections.
