Romania’s RON falls to 1.5-year low vs. USD

Romania’s currency, RON, declined by 0.7 percent on Monday against the US dollar, the exchange rate rising to 4.1342/USD, the highest level since May 2017, National Bank of Romania (BNR) data show.

Against the European single currency, RON remained stable at 4.6586/EUR. Romania’s currency reached the all-time low of 4.6695/EUR on June 21, 2018.

RON’s depreciation vs. the US dollar is due to the appreciation of the greenback against the other major global currencies.

BNR injected RON 5.3 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) into the banking market on Monday through a repo operation (government securities-backed lending to banks), at a 2.5 percent yearly interest rate.

This move is designed to address liquidity shortage – and to cap interest rates in the market.

Romania’s three-month money market rate (ROBOR), the main indicator that sets the interest rates for RON currency borrowers, declined on Monday to 3.19 percent, from 3.20 percent.