Kenya Eurobonds Return 2% in June as Brent Falls Below $73 and Shilling Holds
Updated
Updated · Kenyans.co.ke · Jul 1
Kenya Eurobonds Return 2% in June as Brent Falls Below $73 and Shilling Holds
3 articles · Updated · Kenyans.co.ke · Jul 1
Summary
Kenya’s Eurobonds returned about 2% in June—roughly double the emerging-market average—making the country one of Africa’s best-performing debt markets as investors rotated into oil importers.
Brent crude fell to about $72.48 a barrel after a fragile US-Iran ceasefire, cutting Kenya’s fuel import bill and improving the inflation and external-financing outlook for the oil-importing economy.
The Kenyan shilling stayed broadly steady at 129.54 per dollar on June 29 versus 129.63 on June 25, helped by lower dollar demand for fuel imports and foreign-exchange reserves of $13.17 billion.
That marks a reversal from the Iran-Israel conflict, when investors favored oil exporters such as Nigeria; lower crude prices are now drawing flows toward Kenya and the DRC instead.
Risks remain because shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has not fully normalized, with security concerns and elevated war-risk insurance premiums still threatening oil-price volatility.