Chief tax official Dumitru: Leu cannot appreciate against euro unless macroeconomics foundations improve

The local currency, the leu (RON) cannot appreciate against the single European currency, the euro as long as macroeconomic fundamentals, such as trade deficit, current account deficit and deficit fail to improve, Chairman of the Fiscal Council Ionut Dumitru said on Thursday. 

Asked whether the leu continues to depreciate, Dumitru replied "as long as the economic fundamentals - the trade balance, the current account deficit - do not improve, even the government deficit could widen, but first a deteriorating trade balance puts pressure on the exchange rates." 

"I think it would be hazardous for us to say anything as long as we do not know where the tax policies are headed for. As long as the macroeconomic foundations do not improve and, in addition, the perception deteriorates, the leu's value cannot appreciate. It is a matter of debate by how much it depreciates," said Dumitru. 

The leu continued to depreciate on Thursday against the euro, with the exchange rate announced by the National Bank of Romania (BNR) of 4.6279 lei to the euro being a new record high in the past five years and three months. 

On August 3, 2012, the National Bank of Romania was announcing an exchange rate of 4.6481 lei to the euro. AGERPRES .