Commercial banks quoted the shilling at an average of 103.70 to the dollar Tuesday morning.
It had opened the week on Monday at 103.85 units to the dollar.
The shilling has strengthened to a six-week high against the dollar as demand from importers abated on signals of the successful conclusion of a charged General Election.
Central Bank of Kenya’s mean indicative rate for the shilling stood at 103.76 units on Tuesday, the lowest since July 5 when it read the same.
It shifted downwards from Monday’s 103.87, showing that the currency has weathered the pressure it came under last week during the sixth elections in the multi-party era.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at an average of 103.70 to the dollar Tuesday morning. It had opened the week on Monday at 103.85 units to the dollar.
“The shilling gained slight ground amidst the political developments in the country after President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner in elections last week,” said Kingdom Securities in a market report.
The main opposition party Nasa has, however, challenged the results, although they are yet to file a petition at the Supreme Court.
Importers had been piling pressure on the shilling at the beginning of last week as they looked to build up their dollar positions ahead of what was expected to be a tight election.
Many were fearful of potential unrest which could have disrupted business and negatively affected both the exchange rate and availability of hard currency.
The polls, however, passed off relatively peacefully — save for protests in a few slum areas of the cities — and business has now resumed, calming the money markets.
In the year-to-date, the shilling is 1.2 per cent down to the dollar, having opened at a mean of 102.56 units.
It has hit a low of 104 on two occasions this year — in the last week of January and in the second week of July.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
