NAIROBI, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan shilling declined significantly against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as demand for the greenback by importers surged.

The shilling traded at an average of 100.10 against the dollar, going down from 100.00 in the previous session. The Central Bank of Kenya placed the currency at 100.11 to the dollar, a drop from 100.05 on Wednesday.

The East African nation's commercial banks quoted the shilling at an even lower position of between 100.20 and 100.30 from 99.90 and 100.00 on Wednesday.

Currency traders attributed the decline to high dollar demand from importers, including those in oil, manufacturing and energy sectors.

Against the British Pound, the shilling strengthened slightly to close Thursday at 139.59 from 139.74 in the previous session.

However, the shilling is expected to be supported by high forex reserves, currently at 9.5 billion dollars or an equivalent to 6.4 months of import cover, and the 1.5 billion dollars stand-by credit and precautionary facility offered by the International Monetary Fund. Enditem