Monday saw a new low for the Kenyan shilling against the dollar, according to statistics from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
According to the data, the Kenyan shilling was trading at 149.35/55 to the US dollar on Monday as opposed to 149.20/40 on Friday. This is a record-low rate for the shilling. The shilling hit an all-time low of 149.40/60 earlier in the day. Since the year began, it has lost 17.4% of its value against the dollar. According to a report by Reuters, typically, the manufacturing and energy industries are the biggest consumers of money.
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The drop comes at a time when Kenyans are still grappling with the effects of the high cost of living, EPRA increasing the fuel prices for this month. Petrol prices have increased by KSh5.72 per litre, diesel prices have gone up by KSh4.48 per litre, and kerosene prices have increased by KSh2.45 per litre.
As a result, Nairobi’s retail prices for petrol, diesel, and kerosene will now be Sh217.36, Sh205.48, and Sh204.58, respectively. Up to November 14, the revised prices will be in effect. After last month’s assessment, this is the second time that pump prices have remained above the Sh200 threshold. Moses Kuria, the previous trade cabinet secretary, has suggested that prices will continue to rise through February 2024.
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The US Federal Reserve has attributed the depreciation of the shilling to high fuel costs and interest rates. Rufas Kamau, the lead market analyst at FX Pesa, told Tuko in an exclusive interview that the shilling has been losing value versus the dollar on average by 2.3% every month since 2023 began.
