Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves rose to 925.6 billion shillings ($7.537 billion) after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) disbursed 81.7 billion shillings last week, The Kenyan Wall Street newspaper reported.   

The reserves will cover the country’s import needs for 4.22 months, the Central Bank of Kenya said in its weekly bulletin.   

The IMF disbursement drove the country’s forex reserves above the required statutory import cushion of at least four months for the first time in 35 days. 

This will support the country’s external position, which has been impacted by lower inflows of foreign financing.   

Last week, the IMF said growth is projected to converge to about 5.5%, with inflation averaging around 5% over the medium term.    

Fiscal consolidation will facilitate adjustment, allowing the current account deficit to stabilise around 5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), it added. 

(Editing by Cleofe Maceda; Cleofe.maceda@lseg.com)