The Moldovan leu during at least five years has been stable against ten currencies of the main commercial partners of the Republic of Moldova, said expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” Veaceslav Ioniță, who examined the evolution of the exchange rate in the first week of January over a number of years. According to him, the depreciation and then appreciator fluctuations of 2015-2018 have been followed by a period of stability, of five years already, IPN reports.
Compared with the ten currencies of Moldova’s main commercial partners, the leu starts the year at almost the same level. It is clearly seen that since 2019, the weighted average exchange rate of the Moldovan leu has oscillated insignificantly and is now by 0.7% lower than last year, but also by 0.9% higher than in 2019.
The depreciation of the leu by 0.7% during the first week of 2023, against the first week of 2022, is primarily determined by the depreciation against the Russian ruble (-11.9%), the U.S. dollar (-7.5%) and the Czech koruna (-3.3%). At the same time, the Moldovan leu appreciated significantly against the Turkish lira (+23.4%) and the Ukrainian hryvnia (+20.1%). Against the euro, the leu deprecated slightly (-0.8%).
Against the euro and dollar, regardless of the fluctuations in the course of the year, the leu starts the year at approximately the same level as during at least five years.
The currency exchange rate in 2022 was influenced primarily by four factors. Among the negative factors are the rise in prices of energy resources and the war in Ukraine. The foreign financial support and the National Bank of Moldova’s correct intervention on the currency market are the two positive factors.
