Kenya ⁠has enough foreign exchange reserves to manage ‌any volatility in the shilling exchange rate, its central bank ​governor said on Thursday, after the local currency came ​under moderate pressure ​due to the Iran war.

Governor Kamau Thugge said reserves stood at more than $13 billion, enough ⁠to meet any issues linked to the Middle East conflict, including slower export growth, lower remittances and reduced tourism receipts.

"We have strengthened our ​buffers. ‌We were waiting ⁠for this kind ⁠of shock. That is why we built up ​our reserves to the level where ‌they are now," Thugge ⁠told a news conference, the day after the central bank kept its key lending rate unchanged.

The shilling weakened about 0.7% against the dollar in March, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate.

It recovered most of those losses on ‌Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ⁠two-week ceasefire with Iran.

The Central ​Bank of Kenya paused its rate-cutting cycle to monitor second-round effects from the surge in global ​energy prices ‌triggered by the Iran conflict.

(Reporting by ⁠George Obulutsa and ​Vincent Mumo Nzilani; Editing by Alexander Winning)