|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has dismissed claims of currency manipulation, attributing the shilling’s stability to targeted policy interventions and prudent monetary management.
CBK Governor Kamau Thugge says a strong balance of payments, solid export base and capital inflows are some of the factors supporting the Kenyan unit, which has hovered around Ksh 129 to the dollar for months now, despite worsening global geo-politics.
According to the regulator, Kenya’s economy continues to demonstrate resilience, with the shilling remaining relatively stable against the US dollar in recent months despite ongoing global markets and currency volatility.
In the last 7 months, the shilling has been trading at 129 to the dollar despite the ongoing global trade war between the US and leading economic powers like China and the European Union.
Thugge says the recently imposed a 10pc reciprocal tariff by the United States will have minimal impact on the Kenyan economy, though exports to the US are likely to drop by close to Ksh 100 million dollars.
On the domestic front, the Governor expressed concerns over the rising level of non-performing loans, which now stands at 17.2pc, urging commercial banks to increase lending to the private sector.
The CBK Governor further says National Treasury and the International Monetary Fund are negotiating a loan facility with Kenya to easy supply side pressures. On the state of the domestic banking market, CBK says it is conducting onsite inspections on risk-based pricing for all commercial lenders in the country, with mixed results.
