Romania’s leu extended early gains versus the euro in mid trade Monday, unlike its peers in the region, and the central bank’s reference won 0.15% on the day to 4.1084 units.
Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative gained over 0.5% to 2.8412 units, the strongest rate since January 2010.
The leu opened higher at 4.108/4.109 per euro, from 4.11/4.1125 per euro at Friday’s closing.
At around GMT1000, the leu traded at 4.106/4.108 per euro.
Romanian consumer prices rose 0.6% in March from a month earlier, while the annual inflation accelerated to an unexpected 8.01%, the highest level since August 2008, the country’s statistics institute INS said earlier Monday.
“The high inflation could indicate the central bank’s inclination toward a firmer leu to curb import prices,” an ING report said.
On the money market, overnight rates fell to 2.7%-3.2% a year, from 2.8%-3.3% a year Friday.