Kenyan shilling gains against dollar after Supreme Court unanimous ruling
Investors interpreted the court ruling as an end to the prolonged electioneering period that has threatened to turn violent in recent months.
The shilling which had had initially lost ground on Monday morning gained 0.2 per cent immediately after the ruling.
“Going forward, we see range-bound trading as traders dig deeper to the Supreme Court ruling,” an Analyst at CBA bank said.
The shilling closed at 103.65/85 on Friday and was trading at 103.60 against 103.80 Monday.
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Market analysts expect the shilling to continue rising and said the decision by the Supreme court was interpreted by Investors as an end to the prolonged electioneering period that has threatened to turn violent in recent months.
“The Supreme Court have wielded a guillotine. A further 90 day election and the attendant uncertainty would have been unconscionable for the markets,” said Aly-Khan Satchu, an independent analyst and CEO at Rich Management.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange climbed 1.4 percent, highest level since September 22 while the yield on the Eurobond due in June 2024 fell 0.2 percent to 6.03 percent.
The same scenario was witnessed in August when the shilling gained an intra-day high of 103.65 per dollar, from 104 before the elections.
However, following the September 1 nullification of the presidential election, the shilling fell by 0.4 percent within an hour following the ruling while the Nairobi Securities Exchange lost over Sh50 billion ($482m) in about 10 minutes of the ruling.
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The shilling has since then come under heavy pressure forcing the Central Bank to intervene at one point and cushion the shilling to avoid volatility in the local market by selling dollars.
A day after former IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe resigned and fled the country investors at NSE lost Sh11.44 billion ($110m).
President Kenyatta will be sworn in the first Tuesday following seven days of the court’s decision – November 28 – according to Article 141(2) (b).
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