Last week, the Rwanda Franc lost its grip against the dollar hitting a low of 693/708 on Sunday, after about a month or so of relative stability. It has however gained minimally against the Pound Sterling trading at an average of 980/1,000 on Saturday compared to 1,100/1,200 on Monday. The euro was trading at between 925/930 and 910/940. 

On Monday forex dealers and commercial banks had quoted the franc at an average of 676/ 699 against dollar. It was stable for most part of the week, but lost ground on Sunday to trade at 690/700 against the greenback. Some dealers quoted it at 693/708. 

Gabriel Muvunyi, a dealer at Wake up Forex Bureau in Nyabugogo, said though there is some sizeable demand for hard currencies, the market is expected to remain stable in the week ahead. 

Joseph, a forex dealer at Prime Forex Bureau, attributed the franc’s poor performance to high demand from importers over the past week. 

Regional currencies were stable between Monday and Tuesday. However on Wednesday, the Tanzanian shilling and the Burundi franc gained against the Rwanda Franc, with the Burundi franc being quoted between 0.38/0.45 and 0.40/0.45, respectively, compared to Monday’s average of 0.35/0.38. 

The unit however regained ground yesterday trading at an average of 690/699.

According to the National Bank of Rwanda regarding the forex market, the Rwanda franc slightly depreciated against US dollar by 1.7 per cent, 0.5 per cent against the euro and Pound 3.2 per cent. It however gained against Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian units by 1.3 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively in the first quarter of this financial year.