Kenyan shilling holds steady, shares fall

The Kenyan shilling was steady on Monday and traders said they expected the currency to trade in a narrow range in the coming days, with activity not expected to pick up until next week when businesses fully reopen after the festive break.

All the share indexes finished down.

At the 1330 GMT close of trade, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 102.20/30 to the dollar, unchanged from Thursday’s close.

“Most people are still on leave. Activity should pick up aggressively next week,” said a senior trader at one commercial bank.

A second trader said the shilling – which lost 11 percent against the dollar during last year – was expected to trade in the 102.00 to 102.50 range in the coming days.

In the stock market, the benchmark NSE-20 share index fell 0.83 percent to close at 4,007.33 points, extending last year’s 20 percent drop.