The Kenyan shilling traded at Sh129.95 to the US dollar on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, according to the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) daily exchange rates, little changed from the previous day and still just short of the Sh130 mark as the month draws to a close.
The rate is one cent stronger than the Sh129.96 quoted on Tuesday and 24 cents weaker than the Sh129.71 recorded on October 1, a decline of less than 0.2 percent over the month. The CBK’s weekly bulletin described the shilling as stable against major international and regional currencies in the week ending October 22, when it averaged Sh129.91 to the dollar.
The shilling gained against most major currencies on Wednesday. The British pound fell to Sh172.73 from Sh173.26 on Tuesday, and the euro eased to Sh144.49 from Sh145.10, which is its lowest in this series of rates since the start of the month. The Japanese yen slipped to Sh82.36 per 100 yen from Sh82.43, while the South African rand eased marginally to Sh7.79 from Sh7.80.
In the region, one Kenyan shilling bought 33.74 Ugandan shillings, down from 34.58 on Tuesday, so the currency gave back part of its gains against Uganda’s. It bought 20.35 Tanzanian shillings, compared with 20.38, and 11.35 Rwandan francs, unchanged from the previous day.
The shilling has been backed by a comfortable foreign exchange cushion. The CBK reported reserves of $14.693 billion on October 22, equivalent to 5.9 months of import cover, well above the statutory minimum of four months. That is only slightly higher than the $14.689 billion a week earlier, but below the $15.042 billion recorded on September 24.
The Monetary Policy Committee left the Central Bank Rate unchanged at 8.75 percent this month, saying the stance is appropriate to keep inflation expectations anchored and the exchange rate stable. Inflation stood at 6.8 percent in September, within the target range of 2.5 percent to 7.5 percent.
Attention now turns to the CBK’s weekly Treasury bill auction on Thursday, October 29, where the Treasury is seeking Sh28 billion, and to how oil prices and the dollar behave in the final days of the month.
