Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge. file photo | nmg
The Central Bank of Kenya held $8.309
billion in foreign exchange reserves at the end of last week, a record
high for a weekly close, data showed.
The bank said in
its weekly bulletin, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, that the reserves
were enough to
cover about five-and-half months worth of imports.
cover about five-and-half months worth of imports.
There
was no immediate explanation for the high reserves, which are legally
required to be at a minimum of four months worth of imports.
The
bank has struggled to build up reserves in the past, due to low exports
that are far outstripped by imports of items like petrol.
Kenya,
which goes to the polls in August, also has a stand-by credit with the
IMF of $1.5 billion, which it can tap in case of unforeseen shocks.
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