It opened up at 4.306/4.3085 per euro and further gained ground, hitting an early high of 4.2975 per euro.
According to market participants, lenders have started to sell euros from loan loss provisions as the banking system prepares to transition to the international accounting standards starting with January. The leu’s appreciation in the morning was also supported by rising remittances from Romanians who work abroad, dealers said.
In the afternoon, however, the leu reversed its gains and traded above 4.315 to the euro until closing.
The central bank set the leu’s reference at 4.3125 per euro, a new record high in the past two months. Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative won 0.53% on the day to 3.2953 units.
On the money market, overnight rates fell to 3.7%-4.2% a year, from 4.7%-5.2% a year Monday.