NAIROBI, April 16 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling is expected
to come under pressure and Zambia's kwacha and Uganda's shilling
to be range-bound over the coming week as the region grapples
with the economic fall-out of the coronavirus outbreak.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha ZMW= is likely to hold in a range against the
U.S. dollar next week as market players sell hard currency for
kwacha to settle their local obligations.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of
Africa's second-largest copper producer at 18.5200 per dollar
from a close of 18.6240 a week ago.
"Volumes have continued to slow down as business activity
wanes," the local branch of South Africa's First National Bank
(FNB) said in a note, referring to market activity.
UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling UGX= is seen trading in a narrow
range over the next few days, drawing some support from the
removal of excess liquidity by the central bank.
At 0945 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at
3,765/3,775, against last Thursday's close of 3,780/3,790.
A trader at a leading commercial bank said the local
currency would likely gain support from the Bank of Uganda's
removal of 804 billion Uganda shillings from the interbank money
market via a repurchase agreement and a deposit auction.
"Some support will come from that (mop-up)," the trader
said, adding that the local unit will likely hold in the
3,750-70 range against the U.S. currency in the coming days.
KENYA
The Kenyan shilling KES= is seen coming under pressure in
the coming week due to the coronavirus-related slowdown, with
foreign currency inflows from diaspora remittances slowing and
fewer offshore investors to meet dollar demand, traders said.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 106.00/20 per
dollar, the same as last Thursday's close.
"Every day we have more cases of coronavirus so business as
usual will not resume," said a senior trader from one commercial
bank. "Offshore inflows are not coming in for investments, yet
dollar demand is still there."
NIGERIA
Nigeria's naira NGN=D1 is seen little changed next week on
low demand as a government lockdown to slow the spread of the
coronavirus exacerbates dollar shortages, traders said.
The naira traded at 387.65 per dollar in the
over-the-counter market on Thursday on thin dollar liquidity. It
eased to an intra-day low of 388 on the official market in the
previous session but later recovered.
A lockdown in Nigeria aimed at curbing the spread of the
coronavirus has worsened dollar shortages as the central bank
operates a skeletal service and currency traders work from home.
The lockdown was extended for a further 14 days on Monday.
Last month the central bank suspended forex sales to retail
currency bureaus after the government banned entry to nationals
from 13 countries with over 1,000 cases, and advised Nigerians
to cancel or suspend traveling to these countries.