Wednesday, the leu closed at 4.3825/4.384 per euro.
The currency opened at 4.38/4.382 per euro and weakened toward 4.39 per euro in the first hour, amid a negative sentiment in the region. The currency saw a brief moment of appreciation after the statistics institute released data on the 2012 economic growth, but returned to losses shortly after and traded near 4.39 to the euro for most of the day.
Around 4:30 pm, the leu appreciated again following reports that the Finance Ministry has raised $1.5 billion at a 10-year US dollar-denominated bond sale in foreign markets.
The average yield was 4.5% a year, below the initial price guidance of 4.625%. Investors offered $7.5 billion, market participants said.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.3844 to the euro, slightly stronger on the day. However, the leu’s indicative fell 1% against the US dollar to 3.2881 units, compared with 3.2542 units in the previous session.
In the money market, overnight rates were at 4.6%-5.1% a year, slightly down on the day.