Kenya’s Riots Send Shilling on Its Longest Slide Since January
- Shilling has racked up two consecutive weeks of losses
- Currency is still best performer in Africa this year
Kenyan riot police face anti-government protesters in Nairobi on July 16.
Photographer: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Anti-government riots that disrupted Kenya’s economy for the past month and spooked investors are hurting its currency, which has suffered its longest decline since January.
The shilling weakened for nine straight days to 130.68 per dollar at close of Friday trading in Nairobi, paring its year-to-date gains to 17%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On Monday it was up less than 0.1% in early trading. While it’s still Africa’s best-performing currency this year, last week’s drop was the largest since April.