The leu opened at 4.6100 per euro, up from 4.6155/4.6180 at Thursday’s closing.
At around 10:10 a.m. it gained ground and traded at 4.6020/4.6040 per euro. In the first hour of trading the leu touched an early high at 4.6000 versus the euro.
“We may face a delayed reaction to Thursday’s statements of the European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, according to whom the bank is ready to take all the measures to protect the euro.(…) Hence, the leu gains may be furthermore supported by the central bank’s indirect selling orders. It is hard to say what is the reason for the leu’s increase, as trading volumes are still reduced,” a dealer said.
The leu inched lower against the euro by midday Thursday and the central bank’s reference weakened to 4.6205 units, from 4.6186 units a day earlier. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative lost 0.15% on the day to 3.8098 units.
The national currency fell to historic lows against both the euro and the dollar earlier this week, amid political tensions. Since January, the leu weakened by 7.4% against the euro and by almost 15% versus the US dollar.
In the money market Friday morning, overnight rates were at 5% – 5.5% a year.