The Uganda shilling crept higher against the dollar on Monday, a session that saw a late uptick in market activity especially on the foreign currency supply counter.
After holding steady in the morning session, the home unit inched up on the back of corporate dollar supply in afternoon trading to close the day quoted at the lower range of the 3675- 3705 band.
We see the local currency range bound in the near term, as foreign currency buyers and sellers continue to battle for dominance in the local FX market.
Dollar registers little change
The U.S. dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Monday as concerns over the latest escalation in the U.S. – China trade war kept investors wary and volumes remained thin ahead of a U.S. market holiday.
The U.S. slapped 15% tariffs on a variety of Chinese goods on Sunday – including footwear, smart watches and flat-panel televisions – while China imposed new duties on U.S. crude oil in the latest escalation in the protracted trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
The Pound Sterling was down amid mounting uncertainty as British lawmakers prepared to vote on the first stage of a plan to block Prime Minister Boris Johnson from pursuing a no-deal Brexit.
The euro was a touch lower, slipping to $1.0979, within striking distance of Friday’s two-year trough of $1.0963. The single currency has been pressured lower by expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates at its next monetary policy meeting on Sept. 12.
