by Peter Orengo
Economic experts are predicting that the Ugandan currency will continue to succumb to pressure against major international currencies in the wake of dividend payouts.
The local economists state that the shilling is seen trading with a weakening bias on the back of foreign-owned firms buying hard currency to meet last year’s dividend payout obligations.
At 0920 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,705/3,715, compared with last Thursday’s close of 3,710/3,720.
“We’re in the dividends season. There’s a bit of pressure weighing on the shilling and that will continue for the next few weeks,” Faisal Bukenya, managing director at Pay Uganda, an independent foreign exchange dealer in Uganda’s capital Kampala has said.
He said the local currency would likely oscillate in the range of 3,700-3,725 in the coming week.