NAIROBI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's foreign exchange reserves rose by a record 2.06 billion U.S. dollars this week to hit an all-time high of 14.59 billion dollars, the Central Bank said in its weekly update of the financial markets released on Friday evening.
The forex reserves rose from 12.53 billion dollars last week, said the central bank, with the surge attributed to the East African nation receiving proceeds from its latest Eurobond issuance.
The new reserves cover 6.2 months of imports, an increase from 5.4 months last week.
"The reserves meet statutory requirements to endeavor to maintain at least four months of import cover," said the apex bank.
In February, Kenya floated a 500 million dollar Eurobond under a buyback plan to smooth maturities on its 2028 and 2032 bonds.
The bonds were massively oversubscribed, with the country raising 2.25 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan shilling, bolstered by its large reserves, remained stronger against major global currencies this week.
The apex bank said the local currency traded against the dollar at a stable level of 129.18 on Friday.
Against the British pound, the local unit traded at 172.98, and against the euro at 151.09, the bank added. ■