Romanian leu firms vs euro

The local currency closed at 4.4480/4520 per euro, compared to 4.4520/4535 on Thursday.

The leu opened at around 4.4480 and changed hands between 4.4450 and 4.4570 against the euro during the trading session, a local dealer told SeeNews.

"... we also believe RON [leu] gains beyond 4.45/EUR are likely to be limited in the short run, as the central bank might seize the opportunity to rebuild its FX coffers, given the hefty interventions in Jan-Feb. Therefore, we expect the RON to struggle for direction near recent levels in the coming days," ING Bank Romania said in a note to investors earlier on Friday.

Romania's central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.4517 per euro, compared to 4.4625 lei per euro on Thursday. For the U.S. dollar, BNR set its reference exchange rate at 3.2161 lei versus 3.2273 lei on Thursday.

Turnover on the Romanian interbank leu deposit market decreased to 1.48 billion lei on Thursday from 2.75 billion lei on Wednesday. The central bank will issue Friday's turnover figure on Monday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits edged down to 2.79%/3.29% from 2.81%/3.31% on Thursday.