Kenya held 14.699 billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves on November 5, enough for 5.9 months of imports, its central bank reported on November 6. The stock slipped from a week earlier while the shilling stayed at 129.96 per dollar. The import-cover measure remained above the four-month level in the statutory framework.
Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves stood at 14.699 billion dollars on November 5, down from 14.740 billion dollars a week earlier. Kenya’s central bank published the figures in its November 6 weekly bulletin. The reserves covered 5.9 months of imports, above the statutory framework’s requirement that the central bank endeavour to maintain at least four months of cover.[1], [2]
The import-cover calculation uses the 36-month average of imports of goods and non-factor services. At the November 5 observation, the Kenyan shilling traded at 129.96 per US dollar, unchanged from October 29. Reserve amounts are denominated in US dollars, while the central bank’s domestic liquidity figures are in Kenyan shillings.[1]
Commercial banks’ excess reserves averaged 31.9 billion Kenyan shillings above the cash reserve requirement, whose ratio was 3.25 per cent. The central bank described the money market as liquid and continued open market operations. The overnight interbank average rate remained at 8.75 per cent; average daily transaction value declined to 9.2 billion shillings from 12.2 billion, with transaction counts falling from 18 to 16.[1]
