The leu closed at 4.33/4.331 per euro, from 4.3875/4.3895 per euro in the previous day.
JP Morgan Tuesday evening said Romanian bonds were eligible for entry into its GBI-EM local markets index as of March 1. The announcement pushed the leu 1% higher in international trade, reaching its strongest level since February last year.
The leu opened at 4.34 per euro, from 4.3875/4.3895 per euro at Tuesday close, and further gained ground, hitting an early high of 4.32 per euro. In the afternoon, the leu returned toward 4.34 against the euro.
The central bank set the leu’s reference rate at 4.3364 to the euro, the strongest rate in one year. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative strengthened 0.9% on the day to 3.2596 units, the highest level since February 29, 2012.