The EUR/RON exchange rate seems to have been used again as a political weapon in a confrontation between president Traian Băsescu and the government led by Victor Ponta, according to some opinions expressed under the protection of anonymousness and reported in the media. This time, the leu (Romanian for lion) seems to have switched sides to the Govenrment, after it seemed to be siding with the president in the summer of 2012.

Yesterday, the leu fell to a two month low, against the Euro. The official exchange rate announced by the National Bank of Romania (NBR) was 4.4684 lei/Euro, after president Băsescu announced on Monday night that the won't approve the memorandum of understanding signed with the IMF.

Analysts that preferred not to disclose their names said that a state-owned bank, CEC Bank or EximBank, has intervened on the currency market, buying Euros, to weaken the leu, at the request of the NBR. According to them, this action was an attempt to put pressure on the president, to get him to sign the memorandum, in the meeting that he had with the prime-minister, the minister of Finance, Daniel Chiţoiu, the delegate minister for the budget, Liviu Voinea, and the governor of the NBR, Mugur Isărescu. Traian Băsescu did not give in, however, and last night stood by the position he had announced one day before.

Both banks denied the accusations that were made against them.

The representatives of CEC Bank told us that the lender yesterday had a low volume of transactions on the currency market, both in terms of the number of trades, as well as when it comes to the number of trades.

The officials of EximBank had a similar position, which mentions that yesterday, its trades accounted for less than 3% of the market. The bank's approach when it comes to risk is a cautious one, as the currency policy, which is aimed first and foremost at squar