LAGOS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Nigeria's naira is seen trading on
an even keel amid a move to curb transactions while the Kenyan
shilling may firm as tax payments trim demand.
NIGERIA
The naira is seen stable next week as banks limit foreign
exchange transactions by both firms and individual buyers on the
unofficial black market to curb speculation, traders said.
The naira was slightly weaker on the black market on
Thursday at 462 per dollar from 457 a week ago. It was quoted on
the official market at 381 per dollar.
The central bank has employed several methods to help
support the currency in the wake of lower prices for oil,
Nigeria's main export.
The bank has tried to curb import demand to spur local
production in addition to rationing dollar supply.
The naira traded at 386.38 on the over-the-counter spot market
NAFEX=FMDQ , widely quoted by investors and importers, on
volumes in excess of $29.53 million on Wednesday
KENYA
The Kenyan shilling KES= is seen strengthening as
commercial banks get ready to meet their tax obligations and
cash reserves requirements.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the shilling at
108.55/75, compared to last week's close of 108.40/60.
"Two factors will be at play over the coming week as banks
are getting ready to meet their tax obligations and also their
cash reserves requirement ratios for the cycle which could lead
to strengthening of the shilling," said a trader at one of the
commercial banks in the capital Nairobi.
"But demand for the dollar from importers may offset the
strengthening."
UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling UGX= is seen softening in the coming
days as a typical surge in demand for hard currency in the last
quarter of the year starts to kick in.
At 1039 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at
3,705/3,715, compared to last Thursday's close of 3,700/3,710.
"I think we'll start to see demand climb, in keeping with
the trend that we tend to see around late October all the way to
December," said an independent forex trader in the capital
Kampala.
Typically fuel companies and other importers spur demand for
dollars in October and November to pay for higher volumes of
shipments to meet holiday season demand.
TANZANIA
Tanzania's shilling ( TZS= ) is expected to hold steady as
hard currency inflows from agricultural exports absorb demand
pressure from manufacturers and oil importers.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,315/20 on Thursday
from an average of 2,315/25 recorded a week earlier.
"The large contributors of dollars next week are likely to
be exports of spices, cashew nuts and cotton. This will cushion
the exchange rate against dollar demand from manufacturing and
energy sectors," Terry Karanja, a treasury associate at AZA, a
Nairobi-based FX trading firm told Reuters.
ZAMBIA
The kwacha ZMW= is expected to come under pressure against
the dollar next week as hard currency demand surges after tax
payments.
On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa's
second largest copper producer at 20.1100/20.2120 per dollar
from a close of 20.0350 a week ago.
"It should come under pressure next week after the end of VAT
(Value Added Tax) payments on Monday," one financial analyst
said.