Kenya's President William Ruto said on Tuesday he expected the shilling currency to strengthen to under 120 per dollar in the next couple of months, citing an oil import deal that will cut demand for dollars.

Like other frontier economies, the East African nation is experiencing hard currency shortages, weakening its currency, as importers scramble for reliable supplies.

It signed an oil import deal with companies in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia last month, putting in place a longer credit period, and altering the structure of the deal to stagger the demand for dollars in the market.

"In the next month or so you will see the exchange rate coming down in a very phenomenal way. In fact in my estimation, in the next couple of months the dollars will come below 120 shillings, maybe 115, you never know," Ruto said in a televised government meeting. (Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Hereward Holland; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)