Romanian Leu Eases to 4.28-per-Euro Mark

The leu ended at 4.2800/2830 per euro, compared to 4.2500/2540 per euro on Thursday.

The Romanian currency opened at 4.2520/2550 per euro and eased to 4.2550/2580 in early trading in line with the other currencies of emerging markets in the region, one dealer told SeeNews. In the afternoon it abruptly lost ground to 4.26 and then to 4.27 per euro on large commercial orders from local banks, she said.

For the week ahead, the dealer sees the leu weakening further if the country’s central bank does not intervene in the market to support it.

The Romanian central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.2552 per euro on Friday, compared to 4.2495 per euro on Thursday. For the U.S. dollar, the BNR set the reference exchange rate at 2.9159 versus Thursday’s 2.9231.

Turnover on the interbank leu deposit market fell to 1.952 billion lei on Thursday from 2.594 billion lei on Wednesday. The BNR will issue Friday’s turnover figures on Monday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits fell to 7.70%/8.20% on Thursday from 8.19%/8.69% on Wednesday.