The leu closed at 4.353/4.356 per euro, from 4.3535/4.3555 per euro Tuesday.
It opened modestly lower at 4.355/4.357 per euro and traded between a high of 4.353 per euro and a low of 4.3606 per euro throughout the session.
“The volumes were above regular averages. It’s highly likely that the central bank has hit the brakes, after the cost of Italian debt rose above 7% a year, sending a negative signal to the markets,” said one dealer.
Dealers estimate the central bank sold over EUR200 million Wednesday to prevent the leu from depreciating too much.
Elsewhere in the region, the leu’s peers were losing around 1% versus the euro.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.3534 to the euro, barely changed on the day. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative lost 0.75% on the day to 3.1855 units.
On the money market, overnight rates were almost flat at 4.8%-5.3% a year.