NAIROBI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling dropped against the U.S. dollar to end the week lower as focus turned to the Central Bank Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Monday.
The local currency traded at an average of 101.30, a decline from 101.25 during the Thursday trading session.
The Central Bank of Kenya quoted the shilling at 101.29 against the dollar as the currency dropped from 101.26, the level it closed Thursday.
On the other hand, commercial banks in the East African nation placed the currency at between 101.20 and 101.40, with the margins remaining unchanged from the previous session.
Currency traders noted that there was high liquidity in the market, which was putting pressure on the shilling. However, the local unit was waiting for direction from the CBK rate-setting meeting.
Analysts, however, noted the committee meeting is likely to maintain the key rate at 10 percent as in the previous months as the shilling remains stable and inflation is below 5 percent.
Against the British pound, the shilling maintained a downward trend, falling to 141.42 levels down from 140.67 on Thursday.
