Kenyan shilling sees longest slide since January on protests

AFRICAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMYJuly 23, 2024 at 1:14 PM UTC

TLDR

Kenya's currency, the shilling, experienced its longest decline since January due to ongoing anti-government protests impacting the economy.
The shilling weakened for nine consecutive days, reaching 130.68 per dollar by the close of Friday trading in Nairobi.
Despite the recent drop, the shilling remains Africa's best-performing currency this year, with year-to-date gains of 17%.

Anti-government protests that have disrupted Kenya’s economy for the past month and spooked investors are impacting its currency, the shilling, which has experienced its longest decline since January.

The shilling weakened for nine consecutive days, reaching 130.68 per dollar by the close of Friday trading in Nairobi, reducing its year-to-date gains to 17%. On Monday, it was up by less than 0.1% in early trading.

Despite remaining Africa’s best-performing currency this year, last week’s drop was the largest since April.

Key Takeaways

Protests erupted in Kenya in mid-June, urging the government to halt tax increases and address corruption. At least 53 people have died, and more than 400 have been injured. Although President William Ruto has rescinded the proposed measures and dismissed almost his entire cabinet, the demonstrations have continued, with calls for him to step down. High import costs and stubborn inflation have contributed to weakening the shilling, but the protests have clearly unsettled investors, analysts say.

Kenya

Shilling

Protests

William Ruto

Economy

Tax

Budget