DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

The second quarter begins with another blow for the Euro, the exchange rate with the Lek reaches a new record

2026-04-01 18:03:53Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

 

The second quarter begins with another blow for the Euro, the exchange rate with
Illustrative photo

 

The Euro-Lek exchange rate has suffered a new downward blow today. According to the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania, the Euro was exchanged for 95.8 Lekë, the lowest level ever recorded.

The exchange rate has decreased by 0.23 lek compared to yesterday. Since the beginning of the year, the Euro-Lek exchange rate has decreased by 1%, while on an annual basis the decrease has reached 3.4%.

Foreign exchange agents say that the market experienced a slight increase in demand for the Euro in the last days of March, which temporarily raised the exchange rate above the level of 96 lek.

But, by the end of the month, demand had fallen sharply, while the supply of foreign currency in the market appeared stable. This caused the exchange rate to fall back below 96 lek, even touching a new historical minimum.

The second quarter begins with another blow for the Euro, the exchange rate with

Foreign exchange agents describe this dynamic as a kind of “spring” phenomenon. Short-term increases in demand bring a temporary rise in the Euro exchange rate, but, as demand decreases, the exchange rate immediately falls to previous levels.

The Euro-Lek exchange rate continues to be characterized by a downward trend, which during 2026 even extended into the first quarter of the year, an unusual development in historical data.

With the start of the second quarter, it is likely that these pressures may strengthen further, given the increasing effect of tourism, especially after May.

The Bank of Albania is regularly intervening in the foreign exchange market, in order to keep the strengthening of the local currency under control.

According to official statistics, during 2025 the Central Bank purchased 1 billion and 27 million euros, with the objective of increasing foreign exchange reserves, but mostly in order to curb the strengthening of the Lek exchange rate. The amount of foreign exchange purchased has increased by 10% compared to the previous year.

This gives a clearer picture of the central bank's influence on the exchange rate. In the absence of these interventions, the decline in the Euro exchange rate against the Lek would have been even greater.

This year, the Bank of Albania plans to further increase its planned purchases of foreign exchange in the domestic market. It aims to purchase 330-450 million euros through auctions, with the aim of increasing foreign exchange reserves. The purchase target has increased significantly compared to the projections in the range of 270-350 million euros foreseen for 2025.

However, in a scenario of rising inflation, accompanied in parallel by a further decline in the Euro-Lek exchange rate, the Bank of Albania's space to intervene may narrow./ Monitor


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×