Capital Markets Forex reserves fall Sh21.8bn on foreign debt payments Nov 23, 2021 -2 min read Higher imports of industrial and consumer goods also strained the country’s forex flows as the economy reopened and pent-up demand raised external purchases. “We had projected 5.2 percent ...
The CBK under Dr Njoroge has been accused of fomenting the dollar crisis, with financial analysts saying the that the regulator introduced tough rules on the foreign exchange interbank market, crippling market operations. Through the interbank forex market, banks can trade hard currency with one...
saying the CBK then had used forex reserves to artificially prop up the shilling—contrary to the assertions by the then governor that the regulator was not interfering with the exchange rate movement.
The situation is compounded by the weakening of the shilling against the dollar, which means that it is costing companies a lot more to buy forex. It has also meant that firms are hedging against further weakening by stocking up on dollars or holding on tightly to their greenback reserves. T...
Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves — which are largely tapped for debt payments and essential government imports such as medicines— last Thursday stood at $8.177 billion [about Sh955 billion], or the equivalent of 4.86 months of import cover. These were the lowest forex reserve levels since...
Dr Patrick Njoroge, who chairs the MPC, however, said a relatively stable forex market, a narrower current account deficit and a build-up of forex reserves that cushion the economy from unforeseen shocks informed the decision to retain the base rate. ...
The data further shows that the reserves hit a recent high of $8.5 billion, or 5.05 months of import cover, on April 21 before they started falling. The dollar shortage is the product of increased demand being driven by an increased cost of shipments of raw materials and equipment amid ...