Kenya’s official exchange rate for the shilling against the US dollar crossed the 150-unit threshold on Monday.
This shift comes after a prolonged period of consistent depreciation, which has effectively narrowed the gap between the official exchange rate and the retail selling rates of the US currency.
The shilling’s depreciation has been a prominent concern throughout the year.
Since the outset of 2023, it has depreciated by approximately 17.7 percent against the US dollar.
This represents more than double the rate at which it depreciated against the dollar in the entire year of 2022, which stood at 8.3 percent.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) published its indicative rate on Monday, revealing a dollar buy price of Sh149.84 and a selling rate of Sh150.04 units, with an average exchange rate of Sh149.94.
During the course of the day, the spot or average trading rate climbed to Sh150.03.
The indicative rate is essentially the closing price of the previous day’s trading session, serving as the opening price for the following day.
A survey conducted across banking institutions, including all nine tier-one banks, indicated that they were selling the dollar at rates ranging from Sh154.95 to Sh157, while their purchase prices ranged between Sh141 and Sh149.95.
Meanwhile, forex bureaus quoted dollar selling prices ranging from Sh156.50 to Sh157, with buying rates between Sh152 and Sh153.
Of particular note is that banks have been consistently selling the US dollar at rates exceeding the Sh150 mark since late August.
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