Kampala — Uganda’s currency is expected to gain against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while those of Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia are forecast to be little changed, traders said.
UGANDA
Uganda’s shilling is seen trading with a firming bias in the coming days, helped by month-end inflows of hard currency from charities and commodity exporters.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,497/3,507 to the dollar, compared to last Thursday’s close of 3,495/3,505.
“We are seeing some (hard-currency) flows from commodity exporters and NGOs and being month-end days we anticipate this trend to dominate,” one trader said.
The shilling would likely trade between 3,470 and 3,510 to the dollar, he said.
GHANA
Ghana’s cedi is expected to stay around its current levels as central bank dollar auctions meet demand on the interbank market.
LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 12.30 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 12.22 at last Thursday’s close.
“The currency is likely to hold steady in the coming week as recent central bank auction amounts on offer have exceeded the total bids allocated,” said Andrews Akoto, head of trading Absa Bank Ghana.
“We expect demand from local corporate accounts to persist though, particularly from the services and manufacturing sectors,” he added.
Another trader said the cedi would remain stable as foreign-currency demand and supply are close to equilibrium.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s naira is seen trading within a narrow range, helped by central bank support in the wake of rising demand for the U.S. dollar.
The naira was quoted at 1,491 naira to the dollar on the official market on Thursday, compared with a closing quote of 1,498 naira a week earlier.
The currency was changing hands at 1,500 naira to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.
“I expect (the) central bank to continue to help. All things being equal, I think rates will remain stable next week trading at around 1,485 to 1,490 levels,” a trader said.
KENYA
Kenya’s shilling is forecast to extend a long-running period of stability.
LSEG data quoted the shilling at 129.00/129.40 to the dollar on Thursday, the same level as at last Thursday’s close.
ZAMBIA
Zambia’s kwacha is likely to hold near its current level, unless there is market-moving news in Friday’s national budget presentation.
On Thursday commercial banks quoted the kwacha at 23.97 per dollar from 23.55 a week ago.
*Elias Biryabarema, Christian Akorlie, Chijioke Ohuocha, Hereward Holland & Chris Mfula; editing: Alexander Winning – Reuters
