Secondary market turnover edged up a marginal 1.41 percent w/w to close at 7.03 billion shillings with trades mainly on the medium-to-long end of the yield curve.
The dearth in the supply of short-end papers in the market has been a major contributor in the subdued market participation in that segment of the yield curve and in tandem, an increased activity in the long-end of the curve.
There has been a widening of the bid-ask spreads in the market; signaling uncertainty and lethargy as we approach the end of the year.
Kenyan Shilling Vs US Dollar
The local currency gained marginally in the week to close at 102.43 against the US dollar partly attributed to the liquidity tightness in the market.
Globally, analysts expect dollar weakness on the weaker-than-expected November non-farm payroll data.
Usable foreign exchange reserves held at the central bank decreased by USD 74 million to USD 7.97 billion; equivalent to 5.27 months of import cover.
Money Market:
The average interbank rate increased by 146bps to 7.49 percent in the week attributed to the tight liquidity in the market.
Despite the liquidity imbalance, the regulator came into the market to mop up liquidity via repo transactions in the early part of the week.
The weekly volumes traded in the interbank market declined by 47.86 billion shillings to 65.23 billion shillings.
This Week’s Outlook: Auction of FXD2/2018/10
Market analysts expect subdued secondary market activity in the week with a dearth in short-end bond supply. This will be further compounded by the tight liquidity in the market which has clipped appetite for the shorter duration papers.