Kenya shilling stable vs dlr, export earnings eyed

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Tuesday and dealers said it had the potential to strengthen slightly due to dollar inflows from tea exporters.

At 0730 GMT, the shilling traded at 83.85/84.05 per dollar unchanged from Friday's close. The market was closed on Monday for the Eid ul-fitr holiday.

"Inflows from tea and tourism are providing adequate supply of dollars in the market. We will see a modest gain," said Peter Mutuku, a trader at Bank of Africa.

The east African nation is the world's biggest exporter of black tea, and the crop is one of its largest foreign exchange earners, raking in $1.27 billion last year.

Grace Newa, a trader at Kenya Commercial Bank said the central bank was also expected to mop up excess liquidity arising from maturities of government securities, via repurchase agreements.

The shilling is up 1.5 percent against the dollar this year to date, thanks to the very tight monetary policy run by the central bank.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenya-shilling-stable-vs-dlr-export-earnings-eyed-082209300--finance.html

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