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Kenyan Shilling hits 142 against US Dollar, strongest since November

Directline is said to control more than 60 per cent of the public service vehicles (PSVs) insurance market. (Photo: File)

By Mary Wambui | Friday, February 16, 2024

In Eastleigh's exchange bureaus, the shilling stood at between sh125-130 on Thursday afternoon.

The United States Dollar exchange rate with the Kenyan Shilling moved from 160 on February 8 to 142 on Friday evening.

This means the Kenyan shilling has appreciated by 12 per cent in the last 8 days, getting to its strongest level since November last year.

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A statement by the Central Bank of Kenya detailing the average exchange rates for major currencies by market close on Friday said the exchange rate had dropped to 142.9185 against the US dollar.

Against the Sterling Pound, the shilling exchanged at a new high of 179.43 and the Euro at 153.52 on Friday, said CBK.

The record appreciation of the shilling is set to lower import costs in local currency terms.

Earlier this week, Kenya sold a new USD1.5 billion Eurobond maturing in 2031 for use in financing a large portion of the USD2 billion dollar Eurobond set to mature in June.

The move raised traders' confidence and helped stop the prolonged panic buying of foreign currency that has seen the shilling make continual record lows for over two years.

On Thursday, Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo urged Kenyans hoarding the dollar to take advantage of the current window to sell it off or risk losing.

"I want to encourage Kenyans if you're holding any dollar because you fear the Eurobond, please note that now the risk of failure to settle the Eurobond is gone," he said.

The shilling stood at Sh161 against the US dollar four days ago but regained value to close the day at an average of Sh153 to the dollar on Thursday.

In April last year, President William Ruto said the US dollar exchange rate would "phenomenally" drop to below 120 in about 30 days as a result of the government's efforts to awaken then weakening shilling and the state of the economy but that did not happen.

He said the drop would be aided by the move to purchase oil products using the Kenyan shilling as opposed to the dollar which costs the nation USD500 million monthly.

In Eastleigh's exchange bureaus, the shilling stood at between sh125-130 on Thursday afternoon.