TIRANA, May 7 – After hitting a 12-year high of around 130 lek last April, the U.S. dollar has lost some ground against both the Euro and Albania’s national currency in the first days of this month.
The U.S. dollar dropped to 125.25 lek this week, down from an average of 129.97 lek last April when it registered a 12-year high making several key imports in Albania, especially fuel, much more expensive.
The euro also gained ground against the softer dollar this week as oil prices maintained their upward trend following news of a drop in US crude inventories, with Brent briefly breaking above $69 a barrel to hit yet another 2015 high. The euro was up a hefty 1.5 per cent versus the dollar at $1.1346, its highest level in more than two months.
With international oil prices having more than halved since their peak level in mid-2014, the Albanian lek has lost around a quarter against the US dollar in a similar situation with the Euro.
The Albanian national currency also slightly depreciated against the Euro this week when it traded at 140.43 lek, up from an average of 140.26 lek last April.
The depreciation of the national currency has also had an impact in credit as US dollar denominated loans account for around 10 percent of the total loans to businesses and a negligible 1.2 in loans to households, making repayment for those who have their income in the Albanian currency much more expensive.
The national currency, lek, has lost around 15 percent during the past six years against the Euro, the main currency used in real estate lending. In November 2008, when the global crisis broke out, the Euro stood at an average of 123.29. Since then, it has been on a constant appreciation.
