MOLDOVAN LEU UPs AND DOWNs RAISE DEMAND FOR CURRENCY - DEALERS

The glaring movements of the Moldovan leu up and down are leading to increased demand for currency from legal persons, say currency dealers, interviewed by Infotag on Tuesday morning.

"A trend has become noticeable on the market, when legal persons do not accumulate lei to buy currency later, but are buying it immediately they receive the national currency on their accounts. This is the reason of the livening registered in the market lately", professional market participants say.

They confirmed that the regulator, just as before, is holding active position on the market, thus in moments of sharp leap of demand or supply, its dealers operatively intervene in the situation and efficiently extinguish the Moldovan leu exchange rate movements.

Asked about the situation in the cash currency segment, dealers pointed at certain stability, adding that the traditional growth of supply of dollars and euros before Christmas and the New Year holidays is not felt on the market.

The Infotag interviewees adhere to the position that with coming of a new president to the National Bank of Moldova, the situation on the currency market will not change and the Moldovan currency correlation against the US dollar-Euro will stay in the usual corridor till the parliamentary elections.

"Most likely that the NBM will be trying to apply a currency tactics that the Moldovan leu to be growing and falling against the US dollar within the corridor of MLD16.80 - 17.80 per US$1, while against the Euro - within MDL18.80 - 19:80", dealers say.

As for the main indicators of regulator's monetary policy, the Infotag interviewees exclude their changes till the end of 2018.

"Most likely, at the next NBM Executive Committee sitting, the base rate and mandatory bank reserves will be kept unchanged - 6%, 14% and 42.5%, respectively, though the market expects the lowering of these rates", dealers said.

Infotag's dossier: On Friday, December 7, the NBM established the following official Moldovan leu exchange rates: MDL17.1883 : US$1 and MDL19.4881 : Euro1, slightly lowering the Moldovan leu rate against the US dollar and the Euro.