The leu closed at 4.491/4.493 to the euro, similar to 4.4945/4.496 to the euro at Thursday close.
It had opened at 4.487/4.489 per euro and gained some ground after the announcement of a better-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter. Romania’s gross domestic product grew by 3.5% in 2013, after a 5.2% annual increase in the fourth quarter. Against the third quarter, the GDP growth was 1.7% in seasonally adjusted data.
Both the quarterly growth and the 2013 growth were the largest in the EU, according to Eurostat data, which showed positive performances from most important economies in the euro-zone. The upbeat data improved the sentiment in the region, but the leu could not profit from it.
Dealers said the leu lost ground in late session most probably due to a high commercial demand for hard currency, while the Hungarian forint and the Polish zloty were gaining up to 0.4% against the euro.
In mid-day however, the leu was still riding an upward trend, and the central bank’s exchange rate improved to 4.4815 per euro, from 4.4926 per euro on Thursday.
On the money market, overnight rates were down to 3.9%-4.4% a year, from 4%-4.5% a year the day before.