Kenya’s Forex Reserves Drop Below Key Level for First Time Since 2015
- Reserves now insufficient to cover four months of imports
- Drop in FX reserves is main concen for government: analyst
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Kenya’s foreign-exchange reserves dropped to the lowest in seven years, breaching the critical level of four months’ import cover.
Reserves currently stand at $7.04 billion, equivalent to 3.94 months of imports, the central bank said in a statement on Wednesday, as it announced a 50 basis-point hike in its benchmark interest rate to 8.75%. It’s the first time Kenya’s reserves have fallen to less than four months of import cover on a daily basis since October 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.