The leu closed at 4.327/4.33 per euro, little changed from 4.33/4.331 per euro a day earlier.
It opened slightly below 4.3 to the euro and traded near that level for the first half of the day, amid reduced volatility.
“The rates changed more visibly in the second part of the session when local banks placed their bids at the finance ministry’s debt sale. The leu strengthened to 4.323 to the euro on different occasions, but the central bank bought euros covertly and the local currency returned toward 4.33 against the euro,” said one dealer.
The finance ministry sold 3.1 billion lei (EUR715 million) of five years bonds, sixfold the planned amount, with the average yield falling to a record low of 5.4% a year.
The ministry has already exceeded its issuance plans for January, of RON4.6 billion. It has raised RON9.98 billion at six out of eight auctions scheduled this month, taking advantage of a positive sentiment in the market following the parliamentary elections in December.
Investor sentiment also improved after JP Morgan announced earlier this week 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 4.3351 per euro, a fresh record high in the past 12 months. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative won 0.5% on the day to 3.2431 units, the strongest rate since February 29, 2012.
In the money market, overnight rates were at 5.3%-5.8% a year, from 5.5%-6% a year Wednesday.