Data from the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) weekly bulletin showed that foreign exchange reserves fell to US$7.38bn in the week ending 2 September from US$7.61bn in the week prior.
At the current figure, Kenya’s FX reserve levels are at the lowest in five years, underpinning the pressure the CBK is facing to shore up FX reserves amid a slump in the shilling and increased demand for dollars by importers. Kenya’s FX reserves have been on a downward trend in recent weeks as the CBK uses part of its stockpile to slow the pace of the shilling’s depreciation. The shilling has lost over 6 percent YTD against the dollar.
