NAIROBI, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's foreign exchange reserves rose for the sixth straight week to hit a near two-year high of 8.19 billion U.S. dollars as of Thursday, the country's apex bank said in its weekly update of the financial markets on Friday.
The forex reserves have sustained an upward trajectory since the start of September, rising from 7.5 billion dollars, an equivalent of 3.9 months of imports, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) noted.
"The usable foreign exchange reserves remained adequate at 8.19 billion U.S. dollars (4.2 months of import cover). This meets the CBK's statutory requirement to endeavor to maintain at least four months of import cover," the central bank said.
The surge in the forex reserve to surpass the requisite four months of import cover after about two years is attributed to low volatility in the currency market, where the shilling has remained stable for months, according to the CBK.
This week, the apex bank said the Kenyan shilling remained stable against major international and regional currencies, trading at 129.19 to the U.S. dollar, a level it has remained for months.
This means the bank has been able to bulk the reserves as it does not need to intervene in the currency market to curb undue volatility of the shilling. ■
