By Fred Ojambo ~ Uganda’s shilling fell to its lowest level against the dollar in more than a week as companies bought the U.S. currency to finance the import of raw materials.

The currency of Africa’s second-biggest coffee producer declined as much as 0.2 percent to 2,600.50 per dollar at 3 p.m. in the capital, Kampala, the lowest level since July 13. The shilling closed at 2,595 yesterday.

The shilling fell because of “manufacturers who were on the buy side,” Faisal Bukenya, a trader at the Ugandan unit of Barclays Bank Plc, said in an interview from Kampala.

The Ugandan currency is the world’s second-worst performer over the past month, after Serbia’s dinar, having declined 4.2 percent against the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shilling has weakened as inflation accelerated to a 17-year-high of 16 percent in May, before slowing to 15.8 percent last month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fred Ojambo in Kampala at fojambo@bloomberg.net

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