The leu closed at 4.3545/4.356 per euro, from 4.34/4.343 per euro Friday. It opened down at 4.348/4.35 to the euro and further depreciated, hitting the day’s low of 4.3645 to the euro in the second half of the day.
Market participants were undecided whether the currency has stopped its recent appreciation against the euro of if today’s rates reflect a more stable configuration of the pair.
The leu last week rose to one-year highs versus the euro after JP Morgan announced that Romanian bonds were eligible for entry in into its GBI-EM local markets index as of March 1.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.3481 to the euro Monday, 0.2% weaker on the day. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative lost 0.6% to 3.2689 units.
In the money market, overnight rates were flat at 5%-5.5% a year.