Market News

Nuzulack Dausen  Reuters

Ayenat Mersie  Reuters

Elias Biryabarema  Reuters

Chris Mfula  Reuters

Chijioke Ohuocha Compiled by George Obulutsa  Reuters

NAIROBI, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling and Zambia's kwacha are expected to weaken against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, traders said.

NIGERIA

Nigeria's naira NGNP= is seen easing on the parallel market next week after the central bank last week accused an online black market quote firm of aiding forex manipulation, prompting abokiFx to suspend its publications on the currency.

The central bank said last week it was investigating abokiFx. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

The naira hit a low of 572 per dollar on the black market on Monday, its last published rate. Traders said rates were volatile due to a low supply of foreign exchange.

The naira has been hitting new lows since July.

The naira was quoted at 411.10 naira on the official market NGN= on Thursday, broadly in a range held since June.

KENYA

Kenya's shilling KES= is expected to remain on the backfoot next week, as strong demand for dollars across sectors at the end of the month is likely to outweigh inflows, traders said.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 110.30/50 on Thursday, down from last Thursday's close 110.00/110.20.

"We are approaching the end-month, so we expect to see some uptick in dollar demand as usual," said one trader. "Inflows are expected to remain a bit subdued, so we will still be under pressure."

TANZANIA

Tanzania’s shilling TZS= is expected to hold steady with dollar inflows from investors and mineral exports matching demand from the manufacturing sector.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 2,314/2,324 on Thursday, unchanged from last Thursday's close.

"We expect a stable shilling in the coming week as dollar demand from importers in the manufacturing sector is matched by inflows from investors and gold exports," said Terry Karanja, a treasury associate at AZA, a Nairobi-based FX trading firm.

UGANDA

The Ugandan shilling UGX= is expected to be stable in coming days supported by hard currency inflows typically received from exporters of commodities, such as coffee, around the end of the month.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,525/3,535, unchanged from last Thursday's close.

"We normally see a little increase in (dollar) inflows toward month-end, I expect some support from there if those inflows materialise," said an independent foreign exchange trader in Kampala.

ZAMBIA

The kwacha ZMW= is likely to remain under mild pressure against the dollar next week as demand for hard currency continues to outweigh supply.

On Thursday, commercial banks quoted the currency of Africa's second-largest copper producer at 16.5250 per dollar from a close of 16.3600 a week ago.