Exchange rate
The Euro showed surprising stability last week, contrary to the broader change in sentiment over the energy crisis and was the target of a sell-off within a basket of G10 currencies.
Bitcoin clawed back a week’s worth of gains in just one weekend.
The Iranian authorities have put into circulation banknotes with a face value of 10 million rials, the largest in the country’s history. The decision was due to accelerating inflation and a sharp increase in demand for cash among the population.
In February 2026, a significant cash outflow was recorded in Moldova: the volume of withdrawals exceeded their receipt in banks by 1,028 million lei, which emphasizes the increase in the population’s preference for cash.
Daily altcoin turnover on Binance has collapsed 80% from its peak to $7.7 billion, signaling waning investor interest, a Darkfost analyst said.
On Friday, March 20, the British pound fell in value due to rising oil prices, which worsened investor sentiment.
Economic analyst Veaceslav Ionita drew attention to a worrying trend: the quality of the mortgage lending market is deteriorating in Moldova.
Austria wants to temporarily reduce the tax on mineral fuels: as a first step, the tax on diesel and gasoline is to be reduced by 5 euro cents per liter each, the Austrian federal government has announced.
After the Fed kept the key rate in the range of 3.5-3.75% on March 18, the price of the first cryptocurrency fell below the $70,000 mark. Leading altcoins fell in price by 4-7% per day.
The Moldovan leu started the working week with a slight weakening against the euro and strengthening against the US dollar. In March, the Moldovan leu demonstrates high stability against major world currencies, despite the jump in world energy prices.
The dollar is showing gains for the second week in a row, while the euro and yen are at multi-month lows.
In February, the U.S. consumer price index remained unchanged – at 2.4%. Because of this, the price of the first cryptocurrency yesterday jumped by 2.3% to $71,000.
Moldovan leu for the middle of March shows a slight strengthening against dollar and euro in comparison with the indicators of the beginning of the month. The average dollar purchase is about 17.05 MDL, sale – 17.50 MDL. On the international markets, the dollar index (DXY) shows a decrease, which automatically leads to the leu strengthening against the American currency.
A majority of Swiss citizens in a referendum supported an initiative to enshrine the right to use cash in the constitution, Logos Press reports.
On March 10, the price of the first cryptocurrency rose above $70,000. The asset recovered from the weekend drop.
The U.S. dollar reversed course on Monday, retreating from a three-month high after President Donald Trump suggested the conflict with Iran was nearing an end.
Since the EUR became the base currency of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) for determining the exchange rate of the MDL and conducting currency interventions (January 2, 2025), the country’s national currency has depreciated by 5.58%.
The global gold market in early March 2026 demonstrates sharp volatility: after growth, quotes have moved to decline. The main factors were the strengthening of the US dollar and geopolitical tensions.
According to the latest data from the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), as of February 27, 2026, official foreign exchange reserves continued their downward trend, decreasing by 61.01 million euros to 5,019.69 million euros. Despite the decrease, the volume of reserves remained high, supporting the financial stability of the country.
Due to rising energy prices, the European currency is already suffering. The euro has fallen 2% against the dollar. The fall could be more significant if the war in Iran lasts longer than the “four weeks” that Trump spoke of.
