Exchange rate to amount to RON 3.65-3.7/€1 for Easter

“We will have a stronger leu at Easter (Ed. n. Orthodox Easter is on April 27),” Banca Comerciala Romana’s (BCR) Chief Economist, Lucian Anghel, told Business Standard.

Furthermore, the positive regional sentiment has led the leu exchange rate to its lowest level in the past five weeks, with a Monday quotation set by the National Bank of Romania (BNR) at RON 3.6949/€1.

In April, Romanians working abroad are expected to send home about €1 billion. “I doubt that worker remittances will lead to a significant appreciation of the exchange rate in current international cicumstances,” said Raiffeisen Bank Romania’s Chief Analyst, Ionut Dumitru, who estimates that the exchange rate will remain at some €3.7/€1 for the coming 3-4 months.

BCR is expecting that the national currency will appreciate against the euro this year, with an average exchange rate at RON 3.6/€1 in 2008, compared to RON 3.33/€1 in 2007.