The leu closed at 4.4145/4.418 per euro, from 4.3925/4.395 per euro in the previous session.
The national currency Friday took a serious hit after the centrist-right government led by Mihai Ungureanu couldn’t withstand a no-confidence motion in parliament and analysts expect the currency will slide further, at least until the new government presents a coherent ruling plan.
The leu opened at 4.3895/4.393 per euro and traded in a narrow range in the first part of the session. Toward the afternoon, the leu started to depreciate, despite continued efforts from the central bank to mitigate the national currency’s fall. It hit the day’s low of 4.4165 per euro toward closing.
“It’s possible the central bank will allow the currency to depreciate further, but it would be a controlled fall. It’s hard to say how low it might get,” said one dealer.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.397 to the euro, the lowest rate on record. Against the US dollar, the central bank computed an indicative of the leu of 3.324 units Monday, 0.5% weaker on the day.
On the money market, overnight rates were at 4.1%-4.6% a year, from 3.8%-4.3% a year Friday.