The Kenyan shilling slipped on Friday, pressured lower by importers and banks buying dollars in a market short of inflows, while shares edged up for the fourth straight session. Commercial banks posted the shilling at 85.10/30 per dollar at the 1300 GMT market closer, slightly weaker than Thursday’s close of 85.00/20.“Foreign currency demand from both the corporate and interbank players in a market thin of dollar inflows saw the shilling trip on the day,” said Commercial Bank of Africa in a daily note. Traders said high demand for dollars this week had been driven by banks paying annual dividends to their shareholders abroad, as well as buying from energy sector importers.“We expect this to taper off in the next couple of weeks,” said Dickson Magecha, a trader at Standard Chartered, adding that the market expected the central bank to intervene once again should the shilling weaken further.The central bank sold unspecified amount dollars in the market on Wednesday after the shilling fell 1.7 percent over five trading sessions, hitting an eight-week low of 85.25/45.The bank’s foreign exchange reserves stand above the statutory four months worth of import cover, giving it room to sell more dollars directly if the need arises. In equities, the main NSE-20 share index rose 0.2 percent to 5,006.96 points lifted by a gradual build up in demand on most stocks. Barclays Bank of Kenya shares bucked the trend, falling 3.2 percent to 17.95 shillings after the company posted dismal earnings for the first quarter of 2013, due to lower interest income and a restructuring cost.
