The RON/EUR official exchange rate reached a new high, of RON 4.4168 to the euro, on Wednesday, after a heated first part of the day on money markets, and the Romanian Central Bank needed to intervene to keep the rate at stable levels, according to dealers.

The steep drop in the Romanian currency came on Friday, after the Government led by Mihai Razvan Ungureanu was toppled in the Parliament. The official rate was down by 1 percent against the EUR since Friday (April 27 ). The rate at currency exchange offices is even higher.

The decrease will be a disadvantage to those who pay bank installments in EUR and to importers. The RON further slipped on Wednesday , reaching RON 4.4239 on the money market.

The official rate is still at RON 4.3970 from Monday (April 30 ), as May 1 was an official holiday in Romania. The Romanian Central Bank should issue a new official rate today (May 2 ) at noon.

The RON has been falling since the beginning of the year, with its previous lowest rate being RON 4.3794 in March.

From an exchange rate of RON 4.07 to the euro at the end of April last year, the rate reached a peak of RON 4.36 against the euro in November. The Romanian currency followed a similar evolution path as in 2010, when it went from a rate of RON 4.07 to the euro in March to a peak of RON 4.37 in June 2010.

The Romanian lei was a stronger currency in 2008, when the average rate was RON 3.68 per euro, but international turbulence sent it plummeting to an exchange rate of RON 4.23 against the euro in 2009. Last year, the average rate was RON 4.20/EUR 1.

editor@romania-insider.com