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Business Recorder
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Nigerian and Ghanaian currencies among those seen stable
ABUJA: The Nigerian, Ghanaian, Ugandan, Kenyan and Zambian currencies are expected to be stable against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, traders said. Nigeria Nigeria's naira is seen broadly unchanged on both the official and parallel markets, supported by central bank interventions and foreign portfolio inflows. The unit was quoted at 1,524 naira to the dollar in intraday trading on Thursday, versus a closing quote of 1,527 naira a week earlier. The currency was changing hands at 1,570 naira to the dollar in street trading on Thursday. 'The naira is expected to remain relatively stable in the coming week largely due to continued inflows from portfolio investors drawn by high yields that are boosting market liquidity,' a trader said. Ghana Ghana's cedi is forecast to remain stable as interbank market activity is subdued. LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 10.30 to the dollar, unchanged from a week ago. 'The cedi continued to hold its ground against the dollar this week, supported by sustained central bank intervention amid a slowdown in interbank activity,' said Chris Nettey, head of trading Stanbic Bank Ghana. 'We expect a similar trend to persist in the coming sessions,' he added. Andrews Akoto, head of trading Absa Bank Ghana, also said he expected the dollar/cedi pair to stay range-bound. Uganda Uganda's shilling is also seen little changed as mid-month tax payments due in local currency limit corporate foreign-currency demand. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,579/3,589 to the dollar, compared to last Thursday's close of 3,582/3,592. '(Dollar) demand will be a little soft because of mid-month tax obligations,' a trader said, adding that the shilling was likely to swing in the 3,550-3,580 range. Kenya Kenya's shilling is seen holding steady in quiet trade. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 128.90/129.40 per dollar, compared with last Thursday's closing rate of 129.00/50. 'It has been relatively stable. We expect this stability to continue as we usually have minimal activity mid-month,' a trader said. Zambia Zambia's kwacha is expected to be trade around its current levels, but some analysts said it could gain further out as the economic outlook improves. On Thursday the kwacha was quoted at 24.39 per dollar from 24.45 a week ago. Fintech company Ebury said in a report that it was upbeat on the outlook for the kwacha. 'Zambia appears to be largely overcoming its debt challenges and drought-related economic disruptions,' the report said.
Business Recorder
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Nigerian and Ugandan currencies could gain
KAMPALA: The Nigerian and Ugandan currencies are seen advancing in the next week to Thursday, while Kenya's, Ghana's and Zambia's are expected to be broadly stable, traders said. Uganda Uganda's shilling is expected to strengthen thanks to limited importer appetite for hard currency and healthy inflows from remittances and commodity exports. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,582/3,592 to the dollar compared to last Thursday's close of 3,588/3,598. 'Importers have largely remained on the sidelines and that will likely remain the case for a while,' one trader said. He attributed weak importer appetite to slow consumer spending typical at the beginning of the financial year, which runs from July to June. The market, he said, is receiving significant dollar inflows from diaspora workers. Ugandan shilling firms on commodity dollar inflows Nigeria Nigeria's naira could appreciate, helped by central bank support and foreign demand for short-term government debt due to high yields. The naira was quoted at 1,525 naira to the dollar on the official market on Thursday, compared with a closing quote of 1,535 naira a week earlier. The currency was changing hands at 1,567 naira to the dollar in street trading on Thursday. 'In the past couple of weeks we have seen appreciation and we expect that to continue,' a trader said. 'I see the naira heading towards 1,500, which is the (government's) budgeted level.' Kenya Kenya's shilling is seen stable, supported by hard-currency inflows from exports of commodities like tea and flowers. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 129.00/129.50 to the U.S. currency, flat from last Thursday's close. Ghana Ghana's cedi is forecast to be steady as the central bank continues to sell dollars to meet demand on the interbank market. LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 10.30 to the dollar, the same level as a week ago. 'We expect the currency to hold steady in the coming week, as firm FX demand, primarily from the energy and manufacturing sectors, is offset by FX supply from the central bank,' said Andrews Akoto, head of trading at Absa Bank Ghana. 'The daily central bank auctions are expected to continue, partly supported by strong gold export receipts,' he added. Chris Nettey, head of trading at Stanbic Bank Ghana, also expected the cedi to stay stable. Zambia Zambia's kwacha is likely to trade around current levels next week. On Thursday the kwacha was quoted at 24.45 per dollar from 23.61 a week ago. 'We anticipate the kwacha to trade within range but (it) could post minor losses owing to corporate U.S. dollar appetite,' Zambia National Commercial Bank said in a note.
