Romanian leu reaches historic low versus euro in interbank trading

Thursday saw a sharp depreciation of the Romanian leu, with the euro climbing to an all-time low of about 5.35 lei in the interbank market. The National Bank of Romania's official rate at 13:00 was 5.2777 lei per euro, significantly lower than the market price. After 14:45 the euro surged, hitting a peak of 5.3459 lei before stabilising around 5.3409 lei.

The interbank market thus recorded the weakest leu level against the euro in history. A stronger euro raises costs for Romanians, as many rents and service bills are euro-denominated, meaning households must exchange more lei to meet payments. The Banca Națională a României reported the market reaction but did not provide further commentary.