NAIROBI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Kenya's and Uganda's currencies
are expected to remain stable in the coming week. Zambia's is
expected to be under pressure versus the U.S. dollar.
KENYA
The Kenyan shilling KES= is expected to be stable in the
week ahead, with the central bank likely to step in and pump in
dollars should the currency come under too much pressure from
importers.
The shilling was trading at 110.70/90 on Thursday, down from
109.95/110.15 at the close of trading last Thursday.
It was expected to trade in a range of 109.00-111.00 against
the dollar in the week ahead, traders said, with the central
bank expected to offer support by pumping in dollars should
demand pressure spark extreme volatility.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha ZMW= is likely to continue trading down against
the dollar next week due to limited hard-currency inflows.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of
Africa's second-largest copper producer at 21.0100 per dollar
from a close of 20.9700 a week ago.
"Negative sentiment after Zambia's default is constraining
dollar inflows and this has largely affected the performance of
the kwacha," one commercial bank trader said.
Zambia missed payment of a $42.5 million coupon on one of
its dollar-denominated sovereign bonds last month, becoming
Africa's first pandemic-era sovereign default. UGANDA
The Uganda shilling UGX= is seen trading in a stable
position with demand ebbing as most merchandise importers have
already met their hard currency needs to pay for shipments of
goods for holiday shoppers.
At 1121 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at
3,680/3,690, compared with last Thursday's close of 3,695/3,705.
"Most merchandise importers who needed dollars to ship in
large volumes for holiday shoppers have already met their
needs," said a trader at one commercial bank. "So I would expect
demand side to be quiet."
He said the shilling was likely to swing in the 3,680-3,700
range.
TANZANIA
Tanzania's shilling TZS= is likely to hold steady in the
next week as inflows from tourism are expected to match demand
for the U.S. dollar from energy and manufacturing importers.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,314/2,324 on
Thursday, unchanged from the levels recorded a week earlier.
"The shilling will continue to be stable," said an FX trader
at one of the commercial banks in Dar es Salaam.
"We expect some inflows from tourism and these levels are
likely to remain the same for sometime, probably until January
2021 because we are heading to the holiday season."