This week started with a shortage of lei and the National Bank intervened, buying foreign currency from banks. According to unofficial reports, it purchased US$5-7 million, the director of Financial Brains portal Sveatoslav Mihalache has told Info-Prim Neo After the central bank’s interventions earlier this week, the inter-bank transactions with dollars became balanced, the dollar being traded at 11.2500 – 11.2750 lei. But there were also small deviations. On Friday evening for example, the dollar was traded at 11.20 lei in a tardy transaction. On the world markets, the euro several times tried to pass the $1.3737 resistance barrier, which ultimately resisted. Following the appreciation of the European common currency against the US dollar and the Moldovan leu, the euro could be sold at rather high rates, ranging from 15.23 and 15.24 lei, as Financial Brains forecast. At the end of the workweek, the euro closed at $1.3480. This means it will depreciate on the Moldovan market as well. However, this weekend some of the currency exchange facilities in Moldova will post higher rates than the real rates on the market: 15.15 – 15.17 lei to sell and 15.30 – 15.35 lei to buy. In such conditions, Sveatoslav Mihalache recommends those that failed to sell euros for 15.23 lei to profit from these rates and sell for 15.15 lei, as the real value is around 15.08 lei. Also, Sveatoslav Mihalache recommends those that need euros to wait for several days until the rate falls at least to 15.10 lei. In a more distant future, the dollar is expected to reach a level of 11.40 – 11.60 lei, while the euro - of 14.90 – 15.05 lei, Mihalache said. To follow the developments of the main currency pairs during the week, visit www.fb.md.