KAMPALA (Reuters) -The Ugandan and Zambian currencies are expected to strengthen in the next week to Thursday, while Nigeria’s and Ghana’s could be broadly unchanged, traders said.
UGANDA
Uganda’s shilling is seen firming modestly thanks to subdued importer appetite for hard currency.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,578/3,588 to the dollar, stable from last Thursday’s close.
“(Forex) demand is pretty flat across the importer side and we haven’t seen any signs of a rebound,” one trader said.
He said the low importer FX demand was likely a result of slow consumer spending.
ZAMBIA
Zambia’s kwacha is expected to add to this week’s gains due to improved foreign exchange supply helped by mining sector inflows.
Commercial banks quoted the kwacha at 23.20 per dollar from 24.39 a week ago.
NIGERIA
Nigeria’s naira is seen staying within a tight range, supported by the central bank’s dollar sales.
The naira was quoted around 1,533 to the dollar in intraday trading on Thursday versus last week’s closing quote of 1,524.50 naira.
The currency was changing hands around 1,535 to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.
“I expect it to trade within a tight range. I don’t see it aggressively weakening from where we are,” a trader said.
GHANA
Ghana’s cedi is forecast to be little changed next week.
LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 10.40 to the dollar, from 10.35 a week earlier.
“The currency is likely to hold steady in the coming week, as we expect the daily central bank auctions to continue in coming sessions, supported by reserves which have been recently reported to be healthy and significantly above IMF targets,” a trader said.
Another trader said demand for the greenback was building but central bank interventions had managed to contain the pressure for now.
(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema, Chris Mfula, Chijioke Ohuocha and Christian Akorlie;Editing by Alexander Winning)
