Below is a table showing the performance of the Kenya Shilling against major currencies on Friday last week:

The Kenya Shilling depreciated against major currencies on Friday, losing 0.1% against the US dollar to trade at KES 84.23 compared to KES 84.15 on Thursday, CBK data showed.

The same data showed that Friday’s dollar exchange rate had lost 0.33% compared to Monday’s of KES 83.95 which was the shilling’s best performance last week against the dollar followed by 0.36% depreciation to KES 84.25 on Tuesday owing to high dollar demand by importers.

Against the Sterling Pound the Shilling also lost 0.1% to trade at KES 131.42 down from KES 131.30 on Thursday while against the Euro the Shilling lost 0.6% or 63 cents to trade at KES 105.96 from Thursday’s KES 105.33.

This week, the Shilling could come under pressure from high demand by dollar-importers and contagion from the results of the EU summit which happened late last week according to a report by the Business Recorder posted yesterday.

At the conclusion of the summit, it was confirmed that at least Spain and Ireland’s Banks would receive recapitalization without affecting the two countries’ national debt, a BBC report dated 29^th June said. These bailouts could also strengthen the Euro thereby reducing pressure on the Kenya Shilling from the dollar.

Additional boosts to the shilling this week could come as the Government continues to mop up liquidity from the market through repurchase agreements. Last week alone, the Central Bank of Kenya mopped up Sh7 billion against bids of Sh12.3 billion according to a Friday report by Reuters.

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