August 18 (SeeNews) - The Romanian leu closed firmer against the euro on Tuesday as investor sentiment towards the CEE region improved, dealers said.
The leu ended at 4.2160/2190 per euro on Tuesday, compared to 4.2205/2225 per euro on Monday.
The leu gained in low volatility and moderate volumes, in tune with the currencies of other emerging markets in the region like the Hungarian forint, the Polish zloty and the Czech crown, a dealer told SeeNews. The leu opened cheaper than 4.22 per euro only to firm later in the day.
Earlier on Tuesday, international newswires reported that the ZEW index, an indicator for investor sentiment for the economy of Europe's top export market Germany, rose more than expected to 56.1 points in August, from 39.1 points in July.
The Romanian central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.2173 per euro on Tuesday, compared to 4.2216 per euro on Monday. For the U.S. dollar, the BNR set the reference exchange rate at 2.9876 versus Monday’s 2.9919.
Turnover on the interbank leu deposit market rose to some 2.887 billion lei on Monday from 2.823 billion lei on Friday. The BNR will issue Tuesday’s figures on Wednesday.
Interest rates on overnight leu deposits rose to 8.57%/9.07% on Tuesday from 8.39%/8.89% on Monday.