The trader said the local currency might weaken to 104.00 by early next week as businesses begin buying dollars.
The Kenyan shilling weakened on Thursday on heavy dollar demand especially from the energy and telecoms sectors, and was seen trading with a softer bias in coming days as firms buy greenbacks to meet their end-month obligations.
At 0730 GMT, commercial banks posted the shilling at 103.45/103.55 per dollar, from Wednesday's close of 103.30/40 per dollar.
"We've seen some heavy corporate demand," said a trader at a commercial bank.
The trader said the local currency might weaken to 104.00 by early next week as businesses begin buying dollars to meet their regular end-of-month obligations.
The central bank sought to mop up Sh10 billion ($97 million) from the market, saying there was excess liquidity.
The bank frequently mops up excess funds from the market, using repurchase agreements and term auction deposits, making it expensive for banks to bet against the shilling.
Traders, however, say the shilling was expected to remain under pressure, hurt by a wide current account deficit and scarce tourism receipts due to dwindling visitor numbers following a spate of attacks by Somali Islamists.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
