The "unstoppable" lek against the Euro ends another disappointing week for the European currency

The lek has registered a new level of appreciation against currencies and especially the common European currency. At the end of this week, the lek yesterday was exchanged for 104.42 euros, according to the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania. This is also the lowest level since August 25, when the European currency recorded the highest value at 110.58 ALL, after a disappointing performance during the tourist season. Meanwhile, the American dollar has easily regained ground, being exchanged at 97.84 ALL, but remains at low values, reports "SCAN". The appreciation of the lek against foreign currencies was explained by the high arrivals of the latter during a successful tourist season. But, although this has already been left behind, the performance of the euro continues to decline day by day. The devaluation of the euro has been one of the main concerns of Albanian enterprises that produce for export, which estimated the losses at around 50 million euros. However, the state budget has also been affected by this phenomenon. According to official data, it is estimated that the state coffers lack at least 15 billion Lek until the end of September, due to the programming of revenues based on assumptions of the exchange rate Euro/Lek of about 120 Lek and USD/Lek, about 110 ALL. Meanwhile, although it has significantly reduced borrowing in the international financial markets, the Ministry of Finance sees a significant increase in the risk of the exchange rate in terms of external debt. In order to somewhat curb this devaluation of the euro, at the beginning of August, the Bank of Albania announced that it would increase the annual quotas for the purchase of the European currency in the market, from 220 million to 300 million. Meanwhile, Governor Sejko has stated several times that if unusual fluctuations are observed, the institution he leads will intervene again with the purchase of euros on the free market.