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NAIROBI, March 19 (Reuters) - The Ugandan and Kenyan
shillings are expected to weaken against the dollar in the next
week to Thursday, traders said.
KENYA
The Kenyan shilling KES= is forecast to weaken due to
end-month dollar demand from the energy and manufacturing
sectors amid thin inflows from diaspora remittances and offshore
investors, traders said.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 104.60/80 per
dollar, compared with 102.40/60 at last Thursday's close.
"Next week, as we move toward end of the month, we should
see more demand ...There are no investors coming in for now,"
said a senior trader from one commercial bank.
UGANDA
Uganda's shilling UGX= is expected to weaken due to
slowing dollar supply from remittances and increased demand from
commercial banks and offshore investors amid uncertainty from
the coronavirus outbreak.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,815/3,825,
compared to last Thursday's close of 3,700/3,710.
"Remittances from Ugandans working abroad have effectively
dried up while offshore investors are paring their positions.
The long and short of that is that we will definitely see
significant (shilling) weakening," said a trader at a commercial
bank who forecast it to weaken to 3,900 to the dollar in coming
days.
The local currency has weakened this week, prompting the
central bank to sell dollars twice to lend support to the local
currency.
TANZANIA
Tanzania's shilling TZS= is expected to be steady or
slightly weaken next week.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,310/2,315 on
Thursday from 2,299/2,309 at last Thursday's close.
“We expect the shilling to hold steady or slightly weaken
next week due to the demand for dollars. It is most likely the
demand will continue and we don't know what is driving this but
it is likely to be driven by panic,” a trader at one commercial
bank in Dar es Salaam said.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha ZMW= is likely to firm slightly, supported by
dollar inflows from companies preparing to make month-end
payments.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of
Africa's second-largest copper producer at 16.6100 per dollar,
down from a close of 15.7000 a week ago.
"We expect to see further gains as corporates start to
prepare for month-end obligations," the local branch of South
Africa's First National Bank (FNB) said in a note.