Romania’s national currency, the leu, fell from 3.8240 to 3.9155 versus the single European currency, but settled around 3.88 lei per euro towards the end of day, before the second vote of the U.S. House of Representatives on the Paulson plan to rescue the financial system.

At 7 p.m. Romania’s hour, banks bought the euro with 3.8720 lei and sold it for 3.8780 lei.

The reference exchange rate posted today by Romania’s Central Bank (BNR) shows a 2.97 percent plunge of the leu to a new low of the past three years and nine months of 3.8720 against the euro. The leu had last posted a minimum value of 3.8830 versus the euro on January 7 2005.

The leu also depreciated 3.3 percent to 2.7912 against the U.S. dollar.

The Polish zloty waved around 3.4250 against the euro and appreciated steadily at 3.3990 after 5 p.m. The Hungarian forint depreciated to 246.92 versus the euro, but then shifted course and gained to 244.70.

On international markets, the American dollar floated between 1.37 and 1.39 versus the euro. At 7 p.m. Romania’s hour, the euro was traded at 1.3825 dollars.

Investors are worried that the financial system rescue plan passed by the U.S. Senate on October 1 could be rejected for the second time by the House of Representatives.

Interbank interests for overnight deposits continued their upwards trend to 14 – 15 percent per yea, exceeding the monetary policy rate of 10.25 percent, on a high demand for lei on the market.

However, BNR did not organize any bids to inject lei on the market, in a context in which the leu fell with more than 3 percent in one day on the interbank market.