The leu’s indicative retreated against the US dollar as well, hitting a record low of 3.7399 units, from 3.7274 units Friday.
Romania’s currency lost over 2% versus the euro in the past two weeks, after a political row between Prime Minister Victor Ponta and President Traian Basescu ended in the latter’s suspension by parliament pending a referendum.
The leu is bound to recover to below 4.5 per euro after the referendum is held at the end of July and the political scene returns to normal, Finance Minister Florin Georgescu said earlier Monday.
The national currency opened slightly higher at 4.563/4.565 per euro, from 4.565/4.568 per euro at Friday close. It further appreciated and hit an intraday high of 4.552 per euro.
At around 1:00 pm, the leu traded at 4.555/4.559 per euro.
In the money market, overnight rates rose to 2.3%-2.8% a year, from 1.7%-2.2% a year Friday.