Romanian leu gains more ground vs euro

The local currency closed at 4.4699/4749 per euro compared to 4.4714/4764 per euro on Thursday.

The leu changed hands between 4.4703 and 4.4779 against the euro during the trading session, real-time interbank FX data published by local portal Conso.ro indicated.

Commenting on the leu's movements, ING Bank Romania said in a note to investors earlier in the day, "For today, significant gains in global equity markets suggest a good day for a risky assets such as the RON [leu], but we see no reason to expect a lively session as we move closer to the holidays."

Romania's central bank, BNR, set its reference exchange rate at 4.4750 lei per euro, versus 4.4705 lei per euro on Thursday. For the U.S. dollar, BNR set its reference exchange rate at 3.6474 lei compared to 3.6250 lei a day earlier.

Turnover on the Romanian interbank leu deposit market rose to 704.7 million lei on Thursday from 512 million lei on Wednesday. The central bank will issue Friday's turnover figure on Monday.

Interest rates on overnight leu deposits fell to 0.08%/0.46% from 0.10%/0.49% on Thursday.