Lek stable against Euro, appreciates against US dollar

TIRANA, Dec. 3 – Albania’s national currency, lek, has been stable against the Euro and gained ground against the US dollar during the past year, according to Bank of Albania’s average monthly fixed exchange rate.
Data show the Euro traded at an average of 140.11 lek in November 2013, compared to 139.71 in November 2012, appreciating by 0.2 percent year-on-year.
The Albanian Lek strengthened by 4.7 percent against the US dollar in November 2013 year-on-year. The US dollar fell to 103.01 lek in November 2013 compared to 109.01 lek a year ago.
The appreciation of the Euro against the Albanian lek is bad news for borrowers in Euro who have their income in lek and government’s external debt payments but good news for Albanian exporters who are already suffering from poor demand in Italy and Greece.
The national currency, lek, has lost around 15 percent during the past five 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 trend against Lek, climbing to a historically record high of 141.97 lek in June 2011.