The exchange rate of the Euro with the domestic currency Lek reached a new historical minimum on Thursday.

According to the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania, the European currency was exchanged at Lek 99.58, breaking the previous record of Lek 99.6 that was reached on August 20 of this year.

Since August, the Bank of Albania seems to have given up trying to keep the exchange rate above the Lek 100 mark, and this has opened the way for market forces that continue to drag down the European currency.

According to exchange agents, currency flows in the market remain stable even after the peak of the summer season. This confirms that in recent years the dynamics of the exchange rate have changed and its decline is no longer related only to the seasonal effect.

One reason could be the time distribution of inbound tourism, which is now more concentrated only in the summer months. However, high foreign exchange inflows do not seem to be related only to tourism, but also to large foreign investments in real estate.

Until the middle of this year, statistics show an increase in the current account deficit, but on the other hand, a continuation of the increase in foreign direct investments.

In the second quarter, the current account deficit narrowed by 7.3% less compared to the same period last year. However, for the entire first six months, the current account deficit remains at its highest value ??since 2020, with a total value of Euro 575 million or 53% more compared to the same period last year.

For the entire first six months, the total value of foreign direct investments reached Euro 749 million, also the highest historical level ever recorded for this period of the year. The value of foreign direct investments is shown to increase by 8% compared with the same period of the previous year.

According to the Bank of Albania, in the first half of this year, approximately a quarter of the value of foreign direct investments went to real estate. The value of foreign direct investments exceeded the value of the current account deficit by 30%, Monitor reports.