Market News

BY George Obulutsa, Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula

NAIROBI, Sept 5 (Reuters) – The Kenyan, Nigerian and Ghanaian currencies are expected to be stable against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Uganda’s could strengthen and Zambia’s weaken, traders said.

KENYA

Kenya’s shilling has been little changed all year, and that trend is forecast to continue.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 128.90/129.40 per dollar, compared with last Thursday’s closing rate of 129.00/50.

NIGERIA

Nigeria’s naira is expected to trade within a tight range next week, as central bank dollar sales help stabilise the foreign exchange market and meet demand from importers.

The naira was quoted around 1,521 to the dollar on the official market on Friday, compared with last Thursday’s close of 1,533.

“We anticipate continued stability around the 1,520 to 1,550 range, supported by the (central bank’s) measured intervention approach,” one trader said.

GHANA

Ghana’s cedi should be steady because of easing corporate dollar demand and inflows from the agriculture and mining sectors.

LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 11.95 to the dollar on Friday, compared to 11.30 at last Thursday’s close.

“The cedi is likely to show some resistance against the dollar’s recent rally in the coming week due to improving FX inflows from the agriculture and mining sectors at the current levels,” said Andrews Akoto, head of trading at Absa Bank Ghana.

“As the backlog of FX demand from local corporate accounts eases, we expect the dollar’s rally to cool in the coming sessions,” he added.

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Chris Nettey, head of trading at Stanbic Bank Ghana, said pressure on the cedi would ease thanks to the central bank meeting all bids at its forward auction on Monday.

UGANDA

Uganda’s shilling may extend its gains, helped by dollar inflows from commodity exporters and remittances.

LSEG data showed the shilling at 3,515/3,525 to the dollar on Friday, compared with last Thursday’s close of 3,549/3,559.

“Commodity inflows especially from coffee are quite strong,” a trader said.

Uganda’s currency has gained gradually this year and is up about 4% year-to-date against the dollar.

ZAMBIA

Zambia’s kwacha is likely to trade weaker as demand for hard currency continues to outpace supply.

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LSEG data showed the kwacha trading at 23.82 per dollar on Friday, from 23.46 at last Thursday’s close.

“Foreign currency liquidity constraints in the market continue to weigh on supply, suggesting the kwacha is likely to remain on the back foot,” Access Bank said in a note.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Elisha Bala-Gbogbo, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula;Editing by Alexander Winning)