Uganda's shilling slid past the psychologically important 4,000 mark against the dollar, reaching 4,025 per dollar before trimming the drop. By early afternoon in London it was quoted at 4,018, according to the Bank of Uganda's website. The move extends a six-day losing streak that has left the currency 10% lower this year and second from the bottom in Africa.
Currency collapses reach import prices and household budgets within weeks. Market Briefs tracks frontier markets free every weekday.
Fresh dollar demand from offshore investors and big importers is pressuring the currency. In a currency outlook, the local unit of Absa Group Ltd., which is listed in Johannesburg, said it expects the shilling to remain "vulnerable to renewed dollar demand" from those buyers, especially large corporate importers in energy, manufacturing and telecom. The bank also pointed to higher global oil prices, offshore portfolio shifts and uncertainty around the Middle East conflict as factors likely to worsen the broader weakening trend.
A record break, six sessions of losses and a double-digit year-to-date slide signal sustained stress. If you have exposure tied to Uganda's economy, currency swings can ripple into import costs and local earnings in dollar terms. Absa's warning on oil prices and geopolitical jitters suggests the pressure may not be over, so it is worth watching how companies with heavy import needs in energy, manufacturing and telecom pass costs along.
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