Romanian Leu Ends Nearly Flat vs Euro, Unmoved by Rejection of New Cabinet in Parliament

The leu ended at 4.2970/3020 per euro, compared to 4.3000/3025 per euro on Tuesday.

"The market was calm and the leu changed hands near the 4.30-per-euro notch during the day. The exchange rate was not influenced by the vote in parliament because its outcome was expected to be negative," one dealer told SeeNews.

The Romanian parliament rejected earlier on Wednesday the new ministerial team proposed by premier-designate Lucian Croitoru in a 250-189 vote. The cabinet needed the support of 236 MPs to win the vote. President Traian Basescu, who is running for re-election on November 22, must now nominate a new premier-designate who will

Romania has been governed by an interim cabinet since the beginning of October after the minority government led by Emil Boc fell in a no-confidence vote. Political uncertainty has been putting pressure on the leu.

"I think that the central bank will remain active on the market by the end of the week and will make efforts to keep the exchange rate at the 4.3-lei-per-euro notch," the dealer said.

Romania’s central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.3005 lei per euro on Wednesday, compared to 4.3017 on Tuesday. For the U.S. dollar, the BNR set its reference exchange rate at 2.9130 lei versus Tuesday’s 2.9376.

Turnover on the interbank leu deposit market fell to 1.876 billion lei on Tuesday from 2.210 billion lei on Monday. The BNR will issue Wednesday’s turnover figures on Thursday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits rose to 9.98%/10.48% on Wednesday from 10.09%/10.59% on Tuesday.