Leu Gains 0.4% Vs Euro, Exchange Rate At 4.0885

05.10.2011 ZF English

The Romanian leu extended early gains against the euro in mid-session Tuesday, and the central bank's reference strenghtened to 4.0885 units, from 4.1039 units in the previous day.

However, the leu continued its decline against the US dollar, with the indicative slightly weakening to 2.8504 units, from 2.8495 units on Monday.

The leu opened almost flat at 4.097/4.1 to the euro but it soon started to strenghten in a quiet market.

The leu touched an early high at 4.087 versus the euro, and traded at 4.0875/4.089 against the euro at around GMT1000.

Dealers said the leu was not impacted by the CPI data, as a higher inflation was espected. Consumer prices rose 0.66% in April from a month earlier, while the annual inflation accelerated to 8.34%, the highest level since July 2008, the statistics institute INS said Tuesday.

On the money market Tuesday morning, overnight rates fell to 2.9%-3.4% a year, from 3.2%-3.7% a year the day before.