Bank Of Uganda sells dollars to save shilling

Friday, 5th August, 2011

The Uganda Central Bank yesterday sold an undisclosed amount of dollars in the foreign exchange market after the shilling slid towards a record low of 2,710 hit on June 30.

The bank said in a notice to the market that it was also offering a seven-day reverse repurchase agreement (repo) for an unspecified amount of money during the session.

“The shilling opened at 2,650/2,660, but weakened sharply to 2,675/2,685, prompting the Central Bank to come in. It is now at 2,665/2,575,” said Faisal Bukenya, the head of market making at Barclays Bank. “With today’s levels, it is clear we are moving back to the record low of 2,710 in June.”

The drop of the shilling was attributed to dollar demand from the energy and manufacturing sectors.



The New Vision Newspaper