The Kenya shilling dropped further against major international currencies as the country's election boss prepared to announce the results of the hotly contested presidential race.
The shilling opened the market at a new all-time low of 119.87 against the US dollar as panic hit the market, with investors adopting a more reserved status.
The shilling, which has been in a decline mode for the past 15 months closed the market at 119.24 on Friday after sinking to 119.72 on election day.
Since the onset of the electoral process, market investors have been scrutinizing fiscal accounts, the balance of payments and central bank reserves.
Having a current account deficit as well as a fiscal deficit, Kenya's financial position as a commercial hub for East and Central Africa, has been a longstanding source of vulnerability.
Its stocks, bonds and shilling currency are some of the most traded by foreign investors on the continent.
In its weekly bulletin, the Central Bank of Kenya said foreign-exchange reserves dropped to 4.43 of import cover, almost breaching the East Africa benchmark.
Reserves dropped to $7,682 billion or Sh917,230,800 billion from $7.8 billion or Sh928.2 billion the previous week.
The reserve bank uses the stored currencies to support the shilling in case of volatilities in the global market.
Spreads of Kenya's hard-currency debt over safe-haven U.S. treasuries - the premium demanded by investors - have come down from over 1,400 basis points in mid-July, but are still in the danger zone of above 1,000 bps.
Last week, the country's business community led by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) appealed for a peaceful environment to ensure business continuity.
Speaking at a joint media briefing, business leaders said any violent incident will pile more pressure on the shaky economy, forcing investors to flee, further sinking the shilling.
''The shilling is currently at its low. Any negative sentiment will worsen the situation, pushing up operational costs, triggering an even higher cost of living,'' the joint statement read in part.
Apart from the last-minute rush to stock foreign currencies, analysts blame the election-induced high supply of local currency in the market to the weakening of the shilling.
