The leu opened lower at 4.5230/4.5250 per euro, from 4.5225/4.5245 per euro at Wednesday close.
At around 10:00 a.m. it traded at 4.5230/4.5240 per euro.
“Despite the quiet market and low traded volumes, the central bank seems to indirectly intervening on the market, by selling euros through banks. (…) Investors, especially foreign ones, count on leu depreciation,” a dealer said.
Premier Victor Ponta said Wednesday at Brussels the referendum for the impeachment of president Traian Basescu will be organized according to the Constitutional Court decision, and the procedure will be set by the Parliament.
A couple of hours before Ponta’s statement, EU Justice commissioner Viviane Reding said that next week, most probably Wednesday, the European Commission will meet to talk about the political status in Romania.
The central bank Wednesday set the leu’s reference at 4.5237 per euro, close to an all-time low of 4.5275 units reached Monday. Tuesday, the leu’s exchange rate was 4.5206 per euro. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative lost 0.5% on the day to 3.6842 units.
In the money market Thursday morning, overnight rates were at 4% – 4. 5% a year.