Romanian Leu Closes Tad Stronger Mirroring Other Currencies of Emerging Markets on Positive U.S Data

The leu ended at 4.2990/3040 per euro, compared to 4.3040/3080 per euro on Wednesday.

The Romanian currency opened near the 4.31-per-euro level but then it gained in line with its regional peers like the Polish zloty, the Czech crown and the Hungarian forint as investors appetite for risk increased following data for the growth of the U.S. economy and also in a correction after the losses from previous days, one dealer told SeeNews.

The leu has weakened beyond the 4.3-per-euro mark as concerns over a 20 billion euro ($29.51 billion) aid programme for Romania, led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and political uncertainty put pressure on the market, dealers said.

A mission from the IMF, the European Union and the World bank will be in Bucharest through November 9 for the second review of Romania's economic performance under its stand-by arrangement with the three international organisations. Initially, the IMF had decided to postpone the visit, scheduled to begin on October 21, after the country’s minority government fell in a no-confidence vote.

Romania’s central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.3079 per euro on Thursday, compared to 4.2995 per euro on Wednesday. For the U.S. dollar, the BNR set its reference exchange rate at 2.9197 versus Wednesday’s 2.9074.

Turnover on the interbank leu deposit market fell to 1.714 billion lei on Wednesday from 1.853 billion lei on Tuesday. The BNR will issue Thursday’s turnover figures on Friday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits rose to 9.75%/10.25% on Thursday from 9.41%/9.91% on Wednesday.