AFRICA-FX- Ghana's cedi to strengthen further next week
NAIROBI, May 29 (Reuters) - Ghana's cedi is forecasted to gain strength in the coming week, bolstered by continued remittance inflows and interventions from the central bank, while Kenya's shilling is expected to remain steady, and Nigeria's naira to stay range-bound, traders said.
The cedi currency has jumped more than 40% versus the U.S. dollar this year, far outperforming its African and emerging market peers.
Data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) showed the cedi trading at 10.25 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 11.55 per dollar at last Thursday's close.
"The cedi has remained on the front foot for much of the last week, however, we've observed some increased hard currency demand from offshore players in the most recent sessions as they look to take profit from GHS investments," Sedem Dornoo, a senior trader at Absa Bank Ghana, said.
"We reckon we'll continue to see support around current 10 levels in the very near term, however, it's likely that the local unit will begin to rally again when this demand is cleared as the central bank continues to provide daily support to the market," he added.
Kenya's shilling is expected to hold steady next week. The shilling traded at 129.00/50 per dollar, compared with last Thursday's close of 128.95/129.45.
Traders forecast Nigeria's naira to maintain its trading range in the coming week, even amid demand from importers.
The naira's stability is expected to be supported by the central bank's weekly dollar sales and inflows from portfolio investors.
The naira was quoted around 1,587 to the dollar in intraday trading on Thursday versus last week's closing quote of 1,586 naira.
The currency was changing hands around t 1,635 to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.
"I see naira trading between 1,580 and 1,590, supported by the central bank's dollar sale. Though volatility remains possible, domestic policy and dollar inflows could help anchor the market," one trader said.
The Ugandan shilling is expected to firm against the dollar, helped by inflows from this week's Treasury auction, traders said.
At 0811 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,627/3,637, compared to last Thursday's close of 3,645/3,655.
"There was significant offshore (dollar) inflows into the bond auction which I think will give the shilling a boost," said a trader at one commercial bank.
The central bank this week held a large and rare private placement treasury bond auction where a total of 2.4 trillion Ugandan shillings ($661.70 million) worth of debt was on offer.
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