U.S. Dollar hits new record

The US dollar hits a new record against the national currency. It rose today to 5.11 lei, compared to 5.06 lei, Friday’s level. Instead, the euro depreciated slightly at the BNR rate, to 4.94 lei.

The US currency is considered a safe haven currency during geopolitically tense times. And the results of the Italian elections only added gas to the fire on an increasingly fragile European currency in the face of the war in Ukraine. The Dollar Index, which measures the evolution of the American currency against a basket of six other currencies, rose 0.2% to 113.87 points, a new high against the euro, which reached $1.04.

Conversely, the British pound fell to an all-time low against the dollar after the British Government announced new tax-cutting measures. It fell as much as 4.9% against the dollar to $1.0327.

The World Bank has warned that the global economy is heading for recession and that we could see “a series of financial crises in emerging markets that would have lasting effects”.

The World Bank’s message comes against the background of the record level of loans granted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to countries with economic problems, a level that reached 140 billion dollars at the end of August.

A stronger dollar makes debt that governments and companies in emerging markets have taken out in US dollars more expensive. In total, emerging markets owe US$83 billion due by the end of next year, according to data from the Institute of International Finance covering 32 countries.