Kenyan shilling flat, focus on possible central bank action

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s shilling was treading water at near 3-year lows on Tuesday, with pressure from a globally strong dollar offset by the possibility that the central bank may intervene for the second straight day to support the local currency.The shilling was trading at 92.05/15 against the dollar at 0720 GMT, unchanged from Monday’s close. The central bank sold an undisclosed amount of dollars on Monday when the shilling touched its lowest level since Nov. 2011.One trader at a Nairobi-based commercial bank said the possibility of another intervention by the central bank was lending support to the shilling, which has lost 1.8 percent against the dollar so far this year.”Today is quiet. People are trying to take stock of whatever is happening in the market… and see if the central bank is coming in again,” said the trader.Other regional currencies have lost even more ground to the dollar in recent weeks due to the globally strong U.S currency, which has rallied on expectation the U.S. Federal Reserve would hike rates faster than expected.Technical analysis of the 14-day and 50-day weighted moving averages shows the shilling was expected to maintain a weakening trend in the near term.