The dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, signaling a mood for policy tightening. The latest Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting showed the central bank’s increasingly hawkish stance. The trend has put pressure on most Asian currencies, including emerging market currencies.
The cities of Gagauzia and Chisinau have the highest level of street lighting. ATU Gagauzia still holds the first place in the Republic with 96.3% illumination of city streets. The municipality of Ceadir-Lunga and the city of Vulcanesti achieved 100% lighting coverage.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended until May 30 a general license allowing certain transactions related to the sale of Lukoil International GmbH (a subsidiary of Russian oil company Lukoil, which owns the group’s foreign assets). This decision allows to finalize the transaction with the American investment company Carlyle Group, which was announced earlier.
Oil prices hit a military high on Thursday following a report that the U.S. military will brief President Donald Trump on possible action against Iran. Prices rose after the Wall Street Journal quoted U.S. officials as saying that Donald Trump had instructed his aides to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iran.
EU expands subsidies for businesses affected by rising fuel prices. The European Commission has allowed EU countries to increase state subsidies for businesses to cover part of the additional costs of fuel and fertilizers.
A resolution adopted by the European Parliament calls for a single definition of rape across the EU. This means that any non-consensual sexual act should be considered rape. The European Commission must now propose legislation, which must then be approved by EU member states.
A prolonged war or more severe oil supply disruptions could push Brent crude prices to $115 a barrel in 2026, with oversupply not returning until 2027, the bank said in its latest commodity markets forecast.
One third of the country’s territory does not have a clearly defined owner. An audit of the Ministry of Environment’s consolidated financial statements for 2025 revealed that the long-standing problem of accounting for hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest land has not been resolved.
The official presentation of the Board Leadership Program International took place today. The program is presented in Moldova by the Chisinau Business School in partnership with the Bucharest Business School, the Association of Independent Directors of Romania and with the support of ecoDa. “School students” will be representatives of the financial and banking and other business sectors.
According to a survey, energy prices have reduced consumer sentiment in Germany to a three-year low and will apparently decline further. The consumer sentiment index was presented earlier this week by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Solutions (NIM) together with the research institute GfK.
Leading banks recommend their clients to buy commodity currencies amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran. In the developed countries segment, these are the Norwegian krone and the Australian dollar, and in the developing countries segment – the Kazakh tenge, the Brazilian real and the Nigerian naira.
European parliamentarians are actively working on the European Union budget for 2027, which is the final year of the current seven-year planning period (2021-2027). Following the approval of a €90 billion funding package for Ukraine for 2026-2027 to cover budgetary and military needs, there are concerns that additional funding will be needed as early as 2027 due to the deficit.
The dollar is falling at the start of the week amid forecasts of US-Iran talks and central bank action. Waning hopes for an agreement to end the war in the Middle East are keeping investors on edge ahead of a series of central bank meetings later this week.
In April 2026, Moldova recorded an agiotic demand of the population for government bonds, which exceeded the authorities’ expectations. Within the April subscription, citizens invested more than 131.5 million lei through the eVMS.md platform, given that the Ministry of Finance’s offer amounted to 85 million lei.
Moldova has made significant progress towards European economic integration, reflected in an increasingly pronounced orientation of exports towards the European Union market. Preliminary results and an analysis of the country’s prospects in the context of the economic policies pursued by the authorities was presented by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) within the framework of the project “Strengthening Trade and Competitiveness in the Eastern Partnership Countries”, funded by the European Union with the support of the consulting company Civitta.
Central banks of the world are preparing for a “stable state of affairs” against the backdrop of worsening volatility in the energy market and are in no hurry to change the cost of borrowing. Many financial analysts come to this conclusion in their publications, considering this position to be fundamentally different from the inflationary crisis of 2022.
The National Bank releases into numismatic circulation the commemorative coin “Eleonora Romanescu – 100 years since her birth”, which continues the series “Famous Women”.
The world’s largest manufacturer, the Malaysian company Karex (which produces Durex, Trojan and other brands), has announced its intention to raise prices by 20-30% or more. Some countries (e.g. Russia) have already seen an increase in retail prices for condoms, including due to logistics costs associated with the Middle East conflict.
Business leaders do not expect a surge in business activity in the second quarter: the outlook is relatively stable, both in terms of price growth and sales revenue. Economic activity in the second quarter of 2026, according to surveys, will also be accompanied by a reduction in the number of employees in trade and services.
After a decline in previous years, diaspora remittances have shown an upward trend since the beginning of 2026, remaining an important source of support for the solvency of the Moldovan population. In March, $175 million was received. This is more than in January and February and even surpassed the record of the traditionally peak December 2025 ($173.77 million).
