Kenya’s stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund has expired, Finance Minister Henry Rotich said on Thursday but the country will continue to talk to the Fund.
Kenya had secured a six-month extension for its stand-by credit arrangement of $989.8 million from the International Monetary Fund in March, which was due to expire in mid-September.
“Yes, the program has ended,” Rotich told reporters, when asked about the IMF stand-by arrangement. “We will continue engaging the fund going forward,” he added.
The Finance Ministry’s Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge had said earlier on Thursday that not having an IMF precautionary arrangement would not hurt the economy.
Kenya had not drawn on the precautionary arrangement last year despite a drought, Thugge said.
The Kenyan shilling weakened against the dollar on Thursday due to increased demand from banks and importers over uncertainty regarding an IMF stand-by arrangement, traders said.
At 0743 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.80/101.00 per dollar, compared with 100.75/95 at Wednesday’s close.
The shilling spiked at 100.96/101.16 earlier in the session.
