Nairobi, Feb. 15 -- The Kenya shilling posted its strongest intra-day gain against the US dollar in the last 12 years on Wednesday, reaping from a tide of investor confidence after the government received significant inflows to pay off the $2 billion Eurobond.

The dramatic gain on Wednesday lifted the local unit to its strongest level since November last year while wiping out all the losses this year. This means that the shilling has now appreciated for 11 straight days to trade below Ksh153.75 at some commercial banks.

For instance, Equity Bank quoted the dollar on Wednesday at Ksh153.75, while KCB had a quote of Ksh157.5, the highest among eight banks tracked by the Business Daily. For their part, forex bureaus were selling the dollar...