NAIROBI, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling closed the week unchanged against the U.S. dollar despite high dollar demands from retail importers.
The local unit was quoted Friday at an average of 103.4 against the dollar, the level it closed the day Wednesday before Kenya marked Independence Day Thursday.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) placed the shilling at 103.35 to the dollar, a slight improvement from the previous day's 103.37.
On the other hand, commercial banks quoted the value of the Kenyan currency against the dollar at between 103.25 and 103.45, with traders noting the shilling had levelled because of high inflows from non-governmental organizations and remittances.
The inflows helped to offset high dollar demands from oil importers, which was putting pressure on the shilling.
On the other hand, the shilling strengthened against the British pound Friday to stand at 133.01 from 133.06 Wednesday and further strengthened against several East African currencies.
Kenya's forex reserve level currently stands at 8.2 billion dollars or equivalent to 5.4 months of import cover, and the country has a precautionary credit facility with the International Monetary Fund of 1.5 billion dollars or equivalent to 1.0 more month of import cover, which means the Central Bank can effectively intervene to cushion shilling from falling. Enditem
