KAMPALA, Uganda-The Uganda shilling was unchanged against the U.S dollar at last week’s close, supported by hard currency inflows from commodity exporters amidst waning importer and interbank demand.
The USDUGX duet was detained within the 3685/3705 levels. This week, market sentiment alludes to a relatively stable pair as mid-month tax payments offer support to the resident currency.
This week, Bank of Uganda actively seeks to raise Ugx 175 Billion of public debt through a Treasury bill auction slated for Wednesday this week.
The U.S dollar traded lower against a basket of major currencies after a mixed jobs report showed the U.S. economy created fewer than expected jobs while wage growth steadied.
The U.S. economy created only 103,000 jobs in March, missing economists’ forecast for 193,000 jobs and well below the 326,000 jobs created in February. This kept the U.S jobless rate unchanged at 4.1%, missing economists’ forecasts for a 0.1% decline to 4%. In-line with expectations however, average hourly earnings grew by 0.3% for February.
The Euro and the Sterling both benefited from a slump in the greenback as the EUR/USD rose by 0.23% to $1.2269, while GBP/USD added 0.59% to $1.4085. Investors now look forward to scheduled speeches by the BoE Governor Mark Carney and the Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s and the European Central Bank minutes from the March meeting for some fresh impetus.
