Leu Ends Flat Vs Euro, In Line With Region

05.27.2011 By Andrei Cîrchelan

The Romanian leu closed flat against the euro Friday, at 4.128/4.13 units, after having reached a low of 4.133/4.135 units in late trade.

The leu opened at 4.129/4.131 per euro, and strengthened slightly to 4.124/4.126 per euro in the early hours of the session, in line with the region.

Later in the session, however, the leu weakened, as sentiment in the region turned negative after news of Japan's outlook downgrade to negative by Fitch Ratings.

In the second part of the session, Romania's currency fell even further and touched the day's low at 4.133/4.135 to the euro, on Greece's debt issues. However, the leu would once again switch trends by the end of the trading as the currencies in the reigon returned into positive territory, dealers said.

The central bank set Friday the leu's reference rate at 4.1315 to the euro, little changed from 4.1333 to the euro a day before.

On the money market, overnight rates increased to 4.25%-4.75% a year, from 4%-4.5% a year in the previous session.