Lek slightly recovers against Euro, USD

TIRANA, Aug. 16 – Albania’s national currency, lek, has slightly gained ground against the main two foreign currencies this summer despite the arrival of migrants and foreign tourists which always strengthen lek at this time of year.
Data from the Bank of Albania’s official exchange rate show Euro dropped to 139.49 lek this week, from 140.19 lek at the end of July and a historical record high of 142.4 lek at the end of April 2011.
Year-on-year data show lek depreciated by 2.6 percent against Euro at the end of July 2011 when euro climbed to 140.19 lek, up from 136.61 lek a year ago.
Meanwhile, the situation with the US dollar appears the same with the US dollar slightly dropping to 96.96 lek this week, from 98.16 lek at the end of July 2011. Year-on year show lek has appreciated by 6.5 percent against the US dollar. At the end of July 2010 the US dollar traded at 105.03 lek.
The Lek’s depreciating trend against the Euro, which is the key currency for many goods and services in Albania, started in early 2009 when the Euro began to increase sharply after remaining at an average of 123 lek for several years.
While the Albanian national currency continues depreciating against the Euro, financial experts are concerned over the high degree of Euro-ization putting Albanian consumers at risk of facing negative currency exchange risks. The ongoing depreciation of the national currency against the Euro has put individuals and businesses which have borrowed in foreign currency, but have their revenues in lek, into a difficult situation.
The increasing demand for Euro following the liberalization of visas in mid-December has also affected the depreciation of the lek during this year. Experts expect the main two foreign currencies to continue strengthening against the Albanian lek next September as migrants return to their host countries.