The Kenya Shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies during the week ending May 9.
It exchanged at KSh 131.25 per US dollar on May 9, compared to KSh 133,20 per US dollar on May 2.
Foreign Exchange Reserves
The usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at USD 7,180 million (3.8 months of import cover) as of May 9.
This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavor to maintain at least 4 months of import cover.
Remittances
Remittance inflows amounted to USD 397.3 million in April 2024, compared to USD 320.3 million in April 2023, an increase of 24.0 percent.
The cumulative inflows for the 12 months to April 2024 totaled USD 4,457 million compared to USD 3,985 million in a similar period in 2023, an increase of 11.9 percent.
The US remained the largest source of remittances to Kenya, accounting for 49 percent April 2024,
Money Market Liquidity
In the money market remained adequate during the week ending May 9, supported by open market.
operations.
Commercial banks’ excess reserves stood at KSh 11.8 billion in relation to the 4.25 percent cash reserves requirement (CRR).
The average interbank rate was 13.74 percent on May 8 compared to 13.83 percent on May 2.
During the week, the average number of interbank deals increased to 41 from 38 in the previous week, while the average value traded declined to KSh 20.0 billion from KSh 23.3 billion in the previous week.
Government Securities Market
The Treasury bill auction of May 9 received bids totaling KSh 53.7 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 24.0 billion, representing a performance of 223.6 percent.
Interest rate on the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills remained relatively stable.
During the Treasury bond Tap sale of May 9, the 10-year fixed rate Treasury bonds received bids totaling KSh 7.1 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 15.0 billion-
representing a performance rate of 47.3 percent.
Equity Market
At the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the NASI, the NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices increased by 1.5 percent, 0.50 and 0.04 percent respectively during the week ending May 9.
Market capitalization equity turnover and total shares traded increased by 1.5 percent, 23.4 and 13.7 percent, respectively.
Bond Market Bond turnover in the domestic secondary market decreased by 10.2 percent during the week ending May 9.
In the international market, yields on Kenya’s Eurobonds decreased by an average of 29.8 basis points-
with the 2027 maturity decreasing by 33.7 basis points.
The yield on the 10-year Eurobond for Angola declined while that of Zambia increased (Chart 3) Global Trends .
The Bank of England retained the policy rate at 5.25 percent during its meeting of May 9, 2024.
The US labor market remained tight with unemployment for April rising by 3.9 percent.
The US dollar index strengthened by 0.2 percent against a basket of major currencies during the week ending May 8
International oil prices declined during the week ending May 8.
It was supported by balanced oil demand and supply, and build-up of oil inventories amid increased geopolitical uncertainities.
Murban oil prices dropped to USD 83.28 per barrel on May & from USD 88.64 per barrel on May 2.
