Market News

by George Obulutsa, Chijioke Ohuocha, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula

NAIROBI, June 19 (Reuters) – The Kenyan, Nigerian, Ghanaian and Ugandan currencies are expected to be broadly unchanged in the next week to Thursday, while Zambia’s could strengthen, traders said.

KENYA

Kenya’s shilling is seen trading stable in the next few days, underpinned by hard-currency inflows from remittances and exports of agricultural commodities.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 129.00/129.40 to the dollar, compared to last Thursday’s close of 128.95/129.45.

NIGERIA

Nigeria’s naira is also expected to be stable, supported by central bank dollar sales amid rising foreign-currency demand.

The naira was quoted around 1,547 to the dollar in intraday trading on Thursday versus last week’s closing quote of 1,537 naira.

The currency was changing hands around 1,602 to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.

“We should see relative stability around these levels,” one trader said. “Buyers (of foreign currency) know that the central bank will step in, … we have exporters (selling foreign currency) and once in a while we see portfolio inflows.”

GHANA

Ghana’s cedi is seen holding its ground at current levels as central bank foreign-currency auctions meet demand.

LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 10.25 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 10.20 at last Thursday’s close.

“We have seen firm demand for FX in recent sessions, particularly from the retail, energy and services sectors. This has translated into high uptake at the central bank’s daily FX auctions,” said Andrews Akoto, head of trading at Absa Bank Ghana.

“We expect this demand to persist in the coming week, but also anticipate it will be matched by supply at the auctions,” he added.

Another trader said that although there was some pressure on the cedi, continued support from the central bank would prevent any sharp move in the dollar/cedi pair.

UGANDA

Uganda’s shilling is expected to be broadly stable, benefiting from inflows of hard currency from non-governmental organisations and exports of coffee and other commodities.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,600/3,610 to the dollar, compared to last Thursday’s close of 3,585/3,595.

“Charity flows will be good as we inch toward last days of the month and then we have the usual coffee flows,” a trader said. The shilling would likely swing in the 3,580-3,620 to the dollar range in the coming days, he added.

ZAMBIA

Zambia’s kwacha could gain, bolstered by increased foreign-currency supply.

On Thursday the kwacha was quoted at 24.00 to the U.S. currency from 24.99 a week ago.

“Today and in the near future, the local unit is expected to trade bullishly due to an increase in supply,” Zambia National Commercial Bank said in a note.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Chijioke Ohuocha, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula;Editing by Alexander Winning)