The central bank bought treasuries from six lenders and will sell them back September 2.
The operation came after interbank rates rose above the central bank’s key rate, as some of the local lenders have liquidity problems.
“The central bank injected the cash so the lenders wouldn’t have to raise interests even higher in their attempt to draw deposits. In a way, the central bank has evened the interest rates following today’s operation,” said one dealer.
Last week, the central bank pumped almost RON5.5 billion in the market via two consecutive repos to lower interest rates.
On the money market Friday, overnight rates rose to 5.8%-6.3% a year, from 4.7%-5.2% a year in the previous day. (EUR1=RON4.2449)