Kenya’s foreign currency holdings declined to a 7 week-low in the last week according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya. The reserves fell to $9.296 billion on 12 August from $9.352 billion on 5 August. According to CBK, the forex reserves are adequate to cover 5.68 months of import, down from 5.72 months of import cover the previous week.
Commercial banks’ excess reserves, also referred to as the bank’s cash holdings physically held by the bank, stood at KSh 10.7 billion, up from KSh10.6 billion the previous week. The value of interbank transactions increased to KSh 13.1 billion from KSh 9.9 billion the week before, while the average interbank rate (the rate of interest charged on short-term loans made between Kenyan banks) dipped to 2.74% on August 12 compared to 3.29% on August 5.
The Treasury bills auction of August 12 were under-subscribed as they received bids totaling KSh 7.0 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 24.0 billion, representing a performance of only 29.3%. In sharp contrast, the treasury bonds were oversubscribed and received bids totalling KSh 104.6 billion against an advertised amount of KSh 60.0 billion, representing a performance rate of 174.4%.
The government’s domestic debt increased to KSh3.79176 trillion on 6 August from KSh3.79151 trillion on 30 July. CBK data shows that the share of domestic debt held by local banks rose to 51.29% on 6 August from 51.14% on 30 July 2021.
Also read: Kenya Forex Reserves Rise for 3rd Week to $7.73 Billion
