Kenya shilling holds firm, pressure may emerge next week

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's shilling was firm on Friday after demand for dollars earlier this week from oil importers dried up, but the currency could come under pressure next week if demand from manufacturers materialises and interest rates edge lower. At 0712 GMT, the shilling was quoted at 87.55/65, holding within a range it has kept this week of around 87.30 to 87.70. "Demand is completely subdued. The range has been fixed for this week," said Andlip Nazir, senior dealer at I&M Bank. "Corporate demand is very, very slow. We should see some demand from importers, mainly manufacturers, from the middle of next week," he added. Dealers said manufacturers often face deadlines for their credit lines around the third week of the month. Interest rates on Treasury bills have also been slipping, which could start putting pressure on the shilling by making the currency less attractive to hold. "At the beginning of the week we had demand from the oil companies that basically sorted itself out," said one senior dealer at a commercial bank in Nairobi.