Kenya shilling hits two months low on repeat poll jitters
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E-mail Xinhua, October 24, 2017
NAIROBI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya shilling on Monday fell considerably to a new low in two months weighed down by political stalemate ahead of the Oct. 26 elections.
The shilling traded at an average of 104.00 against the U.S. dollar down from 103.40 in the previous session.
It was the biggest fall in the recent weeks with the Central Bank of Kenya on Monday said to have sold unknown amount of dollars to commercial banks to buttress the currency.
The apex bank placed the currency at 103.55 against the dollar, a considerably lower position from Thursday's 103.42.
Commercial banks, on the other hand, placed the currency at an even lower level of between 103.75 and 103.85, from 103.20 and 103.55 last week Thursday.
Traders at the financial institutions blamed the plunge to political jitters ahead of the Oct. 26 elections, which the opposition has boycotted.
Besides speculators seeking to keep their money safe in dollars ahead of polls, analysts noted that the shilling had taken the negative trend due to heightened importer dollar demand brought about by the increased political uncertainty.
However, according to Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm, the shilling should remain relatively stable against the dollar in the short-term, supported by weakening of the dollar in the global markets, increased diaspora remittances and CBK's activity in the forex market. Enditem
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