TIRANA, March 24 – The euro rallied against the lek significantly on Tuesday. According to the Bank of Albania’s official exchange rate, one euro was exchanged with 123.84 lek on Tuesday, up by 0.81 lek compared to last week, reaching its highest level since March last year.
The U.S. dollar and the Great Britain pound witnessed an increase where the former was exchanged with 114.45 lek, or 1.08 lek more while the latter was exchanged with 133 lek. The global dollar rally has been evident throughout March amid coronavirus fears.
Last week European Central Bank (ECB) announced a 750-billion-euro stimulus package titled the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) in in response to the coronavirus outbreak, but the effects on the euro are yet to be seen in the long-term.
Since March 12, a couple of days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Albania, the euro has risen by 1.05 lek in the domestic market. Since then all international air, sea and land travel to neighboring countries and Europe have been banned in Albania. Schools, kindergartens, bars, restaurants, hotels, stadiums, concert halls and parks are also closed. Only vital businesses such as supermarkets, bakeries and grocery stores remain open.
