USD/KES moved less than KES 1 before the CBK meeting

USD/KES moved through a range of just KES 0.79 in the 90 days before Kenya's 11 August monetary-policy meeting.

OnLink's USD/KES history records a high of KES 129.75 per USD and a low of KES 128.97 from 13 May to 10 August. Using the unrounded observations, the gap is KES 0.786587 per dollar.

For a Kenyan importer paying a USD 10,000 supplier bill, that full 90-day range equals KES 7,866. At OnLink's live sell rate of KES 129.50 per USD at 09:12 EAT on 10 August, the same invoice costs KES 1,295,000 before any separate transfer fee.

The policy rate and the exchange rate are different numbers

The Central Bank of Kenya says its Monetary Policy Committee will meet on 11 August. At its previous meeting on 9 June, the committee kept the Central Bank Rate at 8.75%.

The committee's decision is quoted in percentage points; USD/KES is quoted in shillings per dollar. A 0.25 percentage-point change in the policy rate would not mean a KES 0.25 change in USD/KES. The exchange rate after the decision still has to be observed rather than inferred from the size of the policy move.

That distinction protects an importer from treating a rate announcement as a supplier-payment quote. The provider's exchange rate sets the converted amount; any transfer fee sits on top. OnLink's guide to paying overseas suppliers from Kenya shows how to compare both before authorising a payment.

CBK's next release will establish the new policy-rate baseline. The first live USD/KES quote after that release will show whether the 90-day trading band has held.

Compare the live KES-to-USD rate before paying a supplier.

Image credit

Cover graphic by OnLink using its public USD/KES history, accessed 10 August 2026.