NAIROBI (Reuters) – Ghana’s cedi is expected to gain marginally against the U.S. dollar in the coming week, while Zambia’s kwacha is seen under pressure and Kenya’s shilling, Nigeria’s naira and Uganda’s shilling are forecast to be broadly stable, traders said.
KENYA
Kenya’s shilling is expected to hold steady in the next week. The shilling traded at 129.40/90 per dollar, compared with last Thursday’s close of 129.25/75.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s naira is forecast to remain stable as the central bank continues dollar interventions to offset demand from foreign investors seeking safer assets as volatility over U.S. trade tariffs persist.
The naira was quoted around 1,599 to the dollar in intraday trading on Thursday, compared with a closing quote of 1,630 naira a week earlier.
The unit was sold at 1,610 naira to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.
“The central bank has able to stem the fall in the naira exchange rate, and this means we see the unit stabilizing around 1,600 in the coming week,” one trader said.
GHANA
Ghana’s cedi is expected to post marginal gains against the dollar next week on strong central bank support amid uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs. LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 15.4300 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 15.4500 at last Thursday’s close. “The cedi has rallied this week on the back of increased support from the central bank. Interbank liquidity has improved with bid-offer spreads tightening significantly as more market makers have actively shown firm prices,” Sedem Dornoo, senior trader Absa Bank Ghana, said. “Looking ahead, we expect continued liquidity, with room for the local unit to post further gains as FX supply remains strong,” he added.
UGANDA
The Ugandan shilling is expected to hold steady in the coming week, supported by an anticipated slowdown in demand for dollars during the shortened Easter holiday period.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,660/3,670, compared with last Thursday’s close of 3,680/3,690.
“We have an Easter holiday and some businesses will be closed so on the demand side we anticipate weak activity,” said an independent foreign exchange trader in the capital Kampala.
He said the shilling will likely trade in the 3,650-3,670 range in the coming week.
Markets will be closed in Uganda on Friday and Monday for Easter holiday.
ZAMBIAThe kwacha is expected to remain under pressure against the dollar next week as demand for hard currency continues to exceed supply. On Thursday, the currency of Africa’s second largest copper producer was quoted at 28.67 per dollar from 28.75 a week ago. “The kwacha remains susceptible to further losses in the absence of meaningful foreign currency inflows or a shift in macroeconomic fundamentals,” Access Bank said in a note.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Elias Biryabarema, Chris Mfula; Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Ayen Deng Bior and Bate Felix)
