Kenya shilling inches up, may strengthen next week

The Kenyan shilling edged up on Friday and traders said it could strengthen further next week if it breaks through a resistance point at 102 to the dollar.

At the 1330 GMT close of trade, the shilling was quoted at 102.00/10, slightly up on Thursday’s close of 102.10/20.

“A break below 102 is key to begin the rally,” said a trader at a commercial bank, adding that recent dollar weakness and subdued demand for the U.S. currency was supporting the shilling, which has languished in a tight range for months.

In the stock market, the benchmark NSE-20 share index rose 1.25 percent to close at 3,833.07 points. In the debt market, bonds worth 424 million shillings were traded, down from the previous day’s volume of 720 million shillings.