Romanian leu extend gains vs euro

The currency ended at 4.4680/4710 per euro compared to 4.4720/4740 on Monday and 4.4750/4780 on Friday.

The leu closed at its opening level after changing hands between 4.4670 and 4.4740 against the euro during the trading session, a local dealer told SeeNews.

On Tuesday, traded volumes were lower compared to the previous days.

The leu’s advance came as a result of the outcome of the general elections held last week and the currency might appreciate further after a new government takes office, the dealer explained.

"For the moment, the comfortable majority of the USL alliance (67% of seats in Parliament) and the appointment of Ponta as Prime Minister eliminated risks that political tension could return," Raiffeisen Research said in its daily Focus FX note. "The political scene is likely to remain quiet in the period ahead, as a new cabinet could be voted by the end of this year, clearing the way for negotiations with the IMF on the 2013 budget plan early next year."

"The elevated yields of Romanian debt securities in a cash-rich environment [..] may continue to support appetite for Romanian government paper. In this context, we do not rule out that the EUR/RON exchange rate may temporarily drift lower from the current level of 4.47," Raiffeisen added.

Romania's central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.4672 lei per euro on Tuesday, compared to 4.4675 lei per euro on Monday. For the U.S. dollar, BNR set the reference exchange rate at 3.3880 lei versus 3.3954 lei on Monday.

Turnover on the Romanian interbank leu deposit market went down to 1.36 billion lei on Monday from 1.50 billion lei on Friday. The central bank will issue Tuesday’s turnover figure on Wednesday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits fell to 4.65%/5.15% from 5.19%/5.69% on Monday.