The leu closed at 4.3815/4.383 against the euro, from 4.3735/4.3745 against the euro at Wednesday closing.
It opened slightly stronger at 4.37/4.3715, but further lost ground in early trade. After the central bank announced its monetary policy decision, the leu extended its losses, and touched the day’s low at 4.3845 per euro.
“The leu’s depreciation was somehow unexpected, as most local investors had anticipated a rate cut. The depreciation was due to some foreign players, London-based most probably, which started to buy euros after the central bank’s decision,” a dealer said.
The central bank set the leu’s indicative at 4.3788 per euro, very close to its all-time low of 4.3794 touched last week.
On the money market, overnight rates rose slightly to 3.8%-4.3% a year, from 3.7%-4.2% a year Wednesday.