Tuesday, Romania sold 10-year bonds worth $1.5 billion in the U.S., at an yield of 6.875%, lower than the initial price guidance of 7%.
The leu opened Wednesday at 4.3475/4.35 to the euro, very close to 4.347/4.349 to the euro at previous session closing.
It later strenghtened to some 4.344/4.347 per euro by 10:00 local time (GMT0800). “The slim appreciation is due to the slight positive sentiment on external markets on one hand, but also to the success of Romania’s bond sale on the U.S. market,” a dealer said. “However, one cannot say there is a huge interest for the leu, as currency volumes traded in the first hour are low.”
The central bank set Tuesday the leu’s reference rate at 4.3433 per euro, 0.2% weaker on the day.
On the money market Wednesday morning, overnight rates fell slightly to 3.5%-4% a year.