Moldovan leu strengthens against reference currencies, but experts warn of risks
The Moldovan leu strengthened against reference currencies on Monday, with the euro falling by 0.23 lei and the US dollar by 0.04 lei.
According to experts, this is not beneficial for the national economy, as exported goods are sold at a lower price, which reduces the income of entrepreneurs.
Economic expert Viorel Gîrbu said that the Moldovan leu has appreciated by 40% against reference currencies in recent months. This means that the profitability of exported goods with the same value is reduced and leads to stagnation in wage growth.
"Now, the authorities need to come up with tools to stimulate economic development," Gîrbu said. "At the moment, following the economic shock, we can see that economic agents have excess financial resources on their current accounts, which are not remunerated, in the amount of 16 billion lei. These are 16 billion lei that are not being used in the national economy."
According to the National Bank of Moldova, it is very important for people to manage their income in a way that creates reserves, without going to extremes.
"It is important that in managing the so-called exchange rate risk, we save in the currency in which we will spend it in the future," said Daniel Savin, head of department at the National Bank of Moldova. "If we will have expenses in lei, we should save in lei. If we will have expenses in foreign currency, euro for example, it is probably the case to save some in euro as well."
Some people said they have lost money due to the fluctuations, while others said that for them it is best to manage their expenses in lei.
"I was abroad and now, a week later, I am going again. I changed euros to lei and I lost money, but I had no choice," said one person.
"It does not affect me directly personally. I think it is good, because it helps to raise the economy," said another.
"We do not work in dollars and euros, we work in lei, whether it has fallen or risen, it does not matter to me," said a third.
"Now it is not convenient to exchange euros, but it is not good to buy euros either, because it is more expensive, so you go everywhere and look for where it is more convenient for you," said a fourth.
According to economists, the trend of appreciation of the national currency will continue in the next six months.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
