Real Estate, Energy, Safe From Exchange

The strong appreciation of the euro against the leu is not affecting the price of electricity and natural gas. Nicolae Opris, President of the energy market regulator ANRE told Bursa: "The price of imported gas is linked to the dollar. Electric energy is traded and paid for in lei in Romania, while the fuel used to produce energy is generated domestically, so it is paid for in lei, or imported, and paid for in dollars. Therefore, we do not see any impact of the recent euro surge."

He explained that ANRE did not react to isolated fluctuations, but used the 12-month average exchange rate to benchmark the price of energy and gas. If the euro remains strong against the leu for a longer period of time, the cost of investments in the energy industry could increase, due to EUR-denominated lending. "We recognize the cost of investment when the investment is commissioned. This year, no important commissioning has been scheduled, so the prices should not be influenced by that," Opris added.

The real estate market is also immune to the rise of the euro against the national currency. "The market is anyway blocked by the lack of liquidities. The price of property is falling, so the appreciation of the euro is only affecting mortgage debtors," said Ion Radu Zilisteanu, spokesman for the Romanian Association of Real Estate Agencies (ARAI). He added that a strong euro would have inflated the price of homes only if the volume of transactions had been similar to that of the previous years. Experience has proven that sellers choose the most favourable currency, so most buyers have paid euros for their property.