Elsewhere in the region, the Hungarian forint was gaining 0.45% versus the euro, while the Polish zloty advanced 0.3%.
The local currency opened near 4.44 against the euro and moved between an intraday low of 4.444 per euro and a high of 4.432 per euro. Trading volume was within usual levels for this period, dealers said.
The leu’s evolution was not affected by weaker-than-expected economic data, market participants said.
The Romanian economy is in recession after a second consecutive quarter of decline, a flash estimate from the country’s statistics institute INS showed Thursday. The gross domestic product contracted 1% in real terms compared with the first quarter, after a 0.2% decline in the previous three months. Previous estimations showed a 0.2% advance during January-March.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.4372 to the euro, slightly weaker on the day. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative won 0.13% to 3.3154 units.
In the money market, overnight rates were at 0.6%-1.1% a year.