Kenyan Shilling Outperforms Many Currencies as it Continues to Strengthen

Kenya is among the best-performing currencies worldwide, a new report by Bloomberg has revealed.

While carrying out research on the performance of the British Pound, the media outlet indicated that the Pound was beating 92 per cent of the world currencies.

Only 11 other currencies among them Kenya had outperformed the Sterling Pound in the first two months of this year.

Other countries whose currencies are performing better than the Sterling Pound are the Zambian Kwacha and the Sri Lankan Rupee.

Over the course of the last month, Kenya has seen the shilling strengthen against both the Dollar and the Sterling Pound.

In the last year, the Sterling Pound had consistently gained against the Shilling therefore hitting Ksh202. The increase was estimated at a 33 per cent gain as of January this year.

In the past month, however, the Kenyan Shilling rebounded and is now trading at Ksh185 against the Dollar.

“The British pound is beating more than 90% of the world’s currencies this year on signs the nation’s economy is holding up better than expected, keeping interest rates higher for longer,” read the Bloomberg report.

“Only 11 currencies — including those of Kenya, Zambia and Sri Lanka — have outperformed sterling in 2024, according to a universe of more than 140 global foreign-exchange rates tracked by Bloomberg.”

After months of volatility, the Kenyan Shilling began gaining strength against the Dollar at the beginning of February and currently retails at Ksh144 from a high of above Ksh160.

The Shilling was on a free fall, particularly in December 2023, when it fell by 21% but rebounded in February gaining 1.8 per cent against the Dollar.

The appreciation of the local currency was attributed to an increase in tourism and diaspora remittances.

Kenya’s tourism industry is on the verge of achieving a significant milestone, as it is anticipated to experience growth in 2024. In 2023, the sector generated Ksh333 billion and it is projected to increase further this year.