Kenya’s forex reserves hit bare minimum as shilling plunges

Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves dropped to the bare minimum this week as the shilling fell to the lowest level against major global currencies, the Central Bank said in its weekly report on the financial markets released Friday evening.

The reserves declined to stand at 7.72 billion U.S. dollars, a year low, from 7.74 billion dollars the previous week, said the apex bank.

The 7.72 billion dollars reserves cover 4.45 months of imports cover, almost equal to the four months of import cover the Central Bank maintains as a statutory requirement.

They are, however, below the East Africa Community region’s convergence criteria of 4.5 months of import cover.

In the last month, the forex reserves have fallen by 276 million dollars as the shilling sustains a downward trend with the apex bank reportedly selling an unspecified amount of dollars to bolster the local unit.

On Friday, the shilling declined to the lowest level ever against the dollar, exchanging at 119.03. Enditem