The country’s foreign reserves declined by Ksh11.77 billion this week even as remittance inflows eased and the Kenyan shilling weakened slightly against major currencies.
Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows the reserves stood at USD 13.149 billion, down from USD 13.240 billion the previous week.
Despite the drop, CBK said the reserves remain above the 5.6-month import cover, exceeding the statutory minimum of four months of import cover.
The decline comes as the government moves to close accounts for the 2025/2026 financial year within the next 10 days.
The Central Bank of Kenya
Photo
KO Associates
At the same time, remittances in May fell by 0.9 per cent to Ksh50.98 billion from Ksh51.45 billion in April.
The Ksh470 million decline saw the 12-month cumulative inflows to May 2026 drop by 0.5 per cent to Ksh647.7 billion from Ksh650.94 billion in the same period in 2025.
“Remittance inflows remain a key source of foreign exchange earnings and continue to support the balance of payments,” CBK asserted.
According to the 2025 Remittances Household Survey Report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, about 50,000 Kenyans working abroad returned home for various reasons, including expired contracts.
This perhaps offers a window into the declining remittances, although neither the CBK nor the KNBS report points to this directly.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan shilling marginally weakened against the US dollar, trading at Ksh129.55 on Thursday compared to Ksh129.48 on June 11.
The shilling also lost ground against the pound, euro and Japanese yen over the week.
CBK data shows the shilling traded at an average of Ksh173.79 against the pound, down from Ksh173.35 the previous week.
Against the euro, it slipped to Ksh150.16 from Ksh149.77, while against the Japanese yen it edged down to Ksh80.84 from Ksh80.79.
A photo depicting a person holding Kenya Shilling notes and US Dollar notes
Photo
Janta Kenya