The central bank said the Kenyan shilling depreciated by 0.3% to a record low of 120.03 against the US dollar on Friday.
The Kenya shilling was exchanged at an average of 119.9059 compared to KSh 119.47 per US dollar on August 18.
The depreciation is partly attributable to increased dollar demand from the oil and energy sectors against a slower supply of hard currency.
On a year-to-date basis, the shilling has depreciated by 6.0% against the dollar, higher than the 3.6% depreciation recorded in 2021.
Equities Market
On the domestic equity market front, it witnessed a downward trajectory with NASI, NSE 20 and NSE 25 declining by 5.7%, 1.7% and 3.4%, respectively, taking their YTD performance to losses of 17.5%, 8.6% and 13.0%, for NASI, NSE 20 and NSE 25, respectively.
The equities market performance was mainly driven by losses recorded by large-cap stocks such as Safaricom and Bamburi of 10.2% and 8.0%, respectively. In comparison, KCB Group and ABSA Bank both declined by 5.3%.
However, the losses were mitigated by gains recorded by stocks such as NCBA, which gained by 10.7%, while Diamond Trust Bank (DTB-K) and Equity Group gained by 2.5%.
The equities turnover declined by 29.5% to USD 6.3 mn, from USD 9.0 mn recorded the previous week, taking the YTD turnover to USD 571.6 mn.
Additionally, foreign investors turned net sellers, with a net selling position of USD 2.0 mn, from a net buying position of USD 0.2 mn recorded the previous week, taking the YTD net selling position to USD 141.3 mn.
Additional reporting from Cytonn Investments
