May in numbers

• May 2

- The National Bank of Romania announces that, as of April 30, 2025, foreign exchange reserves at the National Bank of Romania stood at 61,993 million euros, compared to 62,593 million euros on March 31, 2025. The level of the gold reserve remained at 103.6 tons. Given the evolution of international prices, its value stood at 9,587 million euros. Romania's international reserves (currency plus gold) as of April 30, 2025 were 71,580 million euros, compared to 71,764 million euros on March 31, 2025.

- Euro - at the lowest exchange rate of the month against the leu: 4.9773 lei, according to NBR data.

- Dollar - at the lowest exchange rate of the month against our currency: 4.3851 lei, according to NBR.

- The gram of gold, quoted at the minimum level of the month: 460.2343 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania.

• May 4

- The first round of the presidential elections takes place, in which the independent candidate Nicuşor Dan managed to surpass Crin Antonescu, the candidate of the PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition, qualifying for the second round. George Simion, the AUR candidate, came in first place in the first round, with almost 41% of the votes.

• May 5

- Marcel Ciolacu resigns from the position of Prime Minister, with the duties of interim Prime Minister being taken over by the Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu.

- Elena Lasconi resigns from the position of President of the Save Romania Union (USR), with the leadership of the party being taken over by the mayor of Timişoara and USR vice-president, Dominic Fritz.

- The franc reaches the minimum exchange rate of the month against our currency: 5.3278 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania.

• May 7

- The gram of gold reaches the maximum price of the month: 487.1276 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania.

• May 8

- The franc reaches the maximum exchange rate of the month against our currency: 5.493 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania.

- The euro rises to the maximum exchange rate of the month against the leu: 5.1222 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania figures.

• May 13

- The dollar - at the highest exchange rate of the month against our currency: 4.5894 lei, according to the National Bank of Romania.

• May 14

- The Bucharest City Hall lists a bond issue on the Regulated Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), in a total value of 555.1 million lei.

- The NBR announces that, in the period January-March 2025, the current account of the balance of payments recorded a deficit of 7,656 million euros, compared to 4,201 million euros in the period January-March 2024. In its structure, the balance of goods recorded a deficit higher by 1,997 million euros, the balance of services - a surplus lower by 503 million euros, the balance of primary income - a deficit lower by 140 million euros, and the balance of secondary income made a negative contribution of 1,095 million euros.

• May 16

- The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania decides the following: maintaining the monetary policy interest rate at 6.50% per annum; maintaining the interest rate for the lending facility (Lombard) at 7.50% per annum and the interest rate on the deposit facility at 5.50%;

maintaining the current levels of the minimum reserve requirements for lei and foreign currency liabilities of credit institutions.

• May 18

- The second round of the presidential elections takes place, won by Nicuşor Dan.

• May 20

- Marcel Colacu announces his retirement from the PSD leadership, with Sorin Grindeanu taking over the interim leadership of the party.

• May 22

- The fourth issue of Fidelis government bonds this year debuts on the BVB, with subscriptions totaling lei 1.2 billion (the equivalent of 237 million euros). The interest rates offered vary between 7.8% and 3.85%, depending on maturity and currency.

• May 26

- The new president Nicuşor Dan is sworn in, in the plenary session of Parliament.

• May 27

- The Ministry of Finance announces that the budget deficit reached 55.97 billion lei, or 2.95% of GDP in the first four months of 2025, compared to 57.29 billion lei, or 3.25% of GDP in the same period in 2024.

- The National Bank of Romania announces that broad money (M3) recorded a balance of 743,248.1 million lei at the end of April 2025. This increased by 0.5% (0.4% in real terms) compared to March 2025, and compared to April 2024 it increased by 7.9% (2.9% in real terms).

• May 28

- Discussions between President Nicuşor Dan and political parties for the formation of the new government begin.

• May 30

- The BET index, of the 20 most liquid shares listed on the BVB, rose by 6.69%, to 18,305 points in May, marking a new historical record, a performance also marked by the BET-TR index, which also reflects the reinvestment of dividends allocated by the companies in the share basket, which appreciated by 8.76%.

- The BET-XT index, which reflects the evolution of the 30 most liquid shares on the local market, marked an advance of 5.96%.

- Shares of wine producer Purcari Wineries appreciated by 31.47%, reaching 19.8 lei - a historical record at that time -, amid the announcement that the Polish group Maspex intends to take control of the company in the Republic of Moldova.

- Shares of construction materials producer TeraPlast Bistriţa rose 27.85% last month after the company reported a profit of 1.2 million lei for the first quarter of this year.

- Shares of natural gas carrier Transgaz Mediaş rose 22.3% last month, reaching new all-time highs, on the back of solid financial results.

- Shares of energy supplier and distributor Electrica rose 16.74%, pending first-quarter results.

- Banca Transilvania shares rose 6.53%, reaching new all-time highs.

- The BET-FI index, made up of former SIFs plus Fondul Proprietatea, fell by 3.98% in May, to 58,618 points, being the only BVB basket of shares that depreciated during this period, which suggests that investors are penalizing some of the companies that make up the index.