The Euro/Lek exchange rate is not stopping its decline this week and has hit a new historical minimum. According to the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania, the Euro was exchanged on Tuesday for 92.44 Lekë, the lowest level ever recorded.
Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Euro/Lek exchange rate has fallen by 4.5%, while compared to the same period a year ago, the decline in the exchange rate has reached 4.9%. Data show that the decline in the Euro exchange rate has accelerated especially during 2026.
The high supply of foreign currency associated with the summer season has further deepened a downward trend in the Euro that had already appeared in the first quarter of the year. The Bank of Albania explains this trend mainly with improvements in the Balance of Payments.
Statistics showed that for the first quarter of the year, the current account deficit shrank to 228 million euros, down 28% compared to the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, foreign direct investments reached 404 million euros, marking a new historical record for this period of the year. They increased by 11.6% compared to the same period last year.
The Bank of Albania estimates that the increase in foreign exchange volumes and consequently the continued strengthening of the Lek remains closely linked to the performance of the Balance of Payments.
According to her, the combined analysis of foreign exchange market and balance of payments data up to the first quarter reconfirmed the close link between trading volumes in the foreign exchange market and flows of foreign exchange of goods and services.
Meanwhile, given the usual trend of increasing foreign exchange inflows in the second quarter and especially in the third, it seems that such a performance could explain the acceleration of the depreciation of the Euro in the exchange rate with the Lek.
Bank of Albania data showed that the volume of foreign exchange trading in the domestic market reached a new historical record in the second quarter of the year. The value of foreign exchange transactions reached almost 4.5 billion euros, up by about 30% compared to the same period a year earlier.
The volume of foreign exchange transactions even exceeded the values recorded in the third quarter of last year.
The decline of the Euro seems to be accelerating again this year, after having slowed down somewhat last year. The Bank of Albania continues to be present in the foreign exchange market, regularly buying Euros, with the aim of slowing this trend. For the first quarter alone, the Central Bank bought around 140 million euros, the highest level ever recorded for this period of the year./ Monitor
