The euro fell slightly from 92.00 leks on September 28 to 91.98 leks on October 2, according to the Bank of Albania’s official exchange rate.

The U.S. dollar, British pound and Swiss franc, meanwhile, strengthened against the lek over the same period.

The dollar rose to 81.88 leks on October 2 from 80.86 leks on September 28, while the pound increased to 108.01 leks from 107.40 leks. The Swiss franc recorded the strongest rise, reaching 98.76 leks from 97.30 leks.

The lek’s strength against major foreign currencies has been supported by tourism-related inflows, alongside other sources of foreign currency such as foreign direct investment and remittances.

Foreign direct investment reached a record 1.144 billion euros in the first half of 2026, adding to foreign currency inflows and supporting demand for the lek.

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Ibrahimaj was responding to comments by former Deputy Finance Minister Irena Beqiraj, who questioned the sources of foreign currency entering the Albanian economy and suggested that money from illegal activities had contributed to the appreciation of the lek.

In a post on social media, Ibrahimaj dismissed the claims as unfounded, saying official statistics accounted for the reported 8.5 billion euros in foreign currency inflows through tourism receipts, foreign direct investment and remittances.

According to the Minister, the total comprises 5.72 billion euros in tourism revenue, 1.64 billion euros in foreign direct investment and 1.12 billion euros in remittances, amounting to approximately 8.5 billion euros.

She acknowledged that Albanians spent 3.04 billion euros on travel abroad, but said this did not negate the significance of the 5.72 billion euros spent in Albania by foreign visitors.

“The balance of payments records inflows and outflows separately,” Ibrahimaj said, adding that travel receipts exceeded outbound travel spending by 2.68 billion euros, making tourism a major source of additional euro liquidity in the domestic market.

She also rejected criticism of the foreign investment figures, saying reinvested earnings are internationally recognised as foreign direct investment because they remain in Albania to finance business expansion, capital investment and employment.

Ibrahimaj said the Bank of Albania has consistently linked the structural appreciation of the lek to improvements in the country’s external position, supported by rising tourism revenues, remittances, foreign investment and exports.

She added that the relatively small size of Albania’s foreign exchange market amplifies the impact of higher euro inflows on the exchange rate.

“A relatively strong increase in euro supply from tourism, investment and remittances can have a faster and more visible effect on the exchange rate than it would in a larger and more liquid market,” Ibrahimaj said.

She argued that the appreciation of the lek reflects underlying economic fundamentals rather than unidentified or illicit capital inflows.

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Addressing a parliamentary committee, Sejko said Albania’s external position improved significantly in 2025, supported by higher revenues from tourism, remittances and foreign direct investment, particularly in the real estate sector, which brought billions of euros into the economy.

He said that, under Albania’s free-floating exchange rate regime, it is natural for the national currency to strengthen as the economy continues to expand at around 3.8% and is supported by sustained foreign currency inflows.

“Under a free exchange rate regime, the exchange rate cannot be predicted with certainty,” Sejko said. “The experience of other European countries shows that during the process of European Union integration, when economies grow and foreign currency inflows increase, national currencies tend to appreciate.”

Sejko said the stronger lek has helped curb inflation, the central bank’s primary objective, although he acknowledged that the currency’s appreciation has weighed on exporters and on businesses and households earning income in euros.

“Prices would have been even higher if the national currency had depreciated,” he said. “From a macroeconomic perspective, containing price growth through a stronger lek has positive effects for both businesses and citizens.”

Sejko also argued against adopting a fixed exchange rate regime, saying it would have adverse consequences for the economy.

“If Albania had a fixed exchange rate, inflation would not be 2.6% but around 6%,” he said. “Loan repayments, non-performing loans and unemployment would all be higher, while macroeconomic indicators overall would be significantly weaker.”

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The Europe’s single currency euro weakened slightly against the lek, trading at 96.37 leks by the end of the week, down from 96.43 leks at the start of the week, according to figures published by the Bank of Albania.

The British pound also lost ground, weakening to 110.35 leks on Friday from 110.91 on Monday.

By contrast, the U.S. dollar gained against the lek during the week, rising to 81.89 leks on Friday from 81.28 leks on Monday, an increase of 0.61 leks.

The Swiss franc posted a gradual decline over the same period, trading at 105.51 leks on Friday, down from 105.61 leks at the start of the week.

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Sejko noted that the lek’s strength in the domestic foreign exchange market aligns with positive economic developments, helping to ease inflationary pressures, stabilize prices, and narrow the trade deficit.

To support this trend, the Bank of Albania has carried out strategic foreign currency purchases to boost its reserves.

Sejko also hailed Albania’s upcoming full integration into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) as a “major step toward Europe.”

As of October 7, 2025, Albania’s banking system will be fully operational within SEPA, significantly reducing cross-border transaction costs, potentially saving citizens and businesses up to 20 million euros annually.

Key priorities for sustaining economic growth, Sejko added, include formalizing the economy, reducing cash usage, expanding financial inclusion, and attracting foreign investment by leveraging modern payment infrastructure and macroeconomic stability.

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In his remarks during a debate on the government’s Normative Act on the 2024 State Budget changes at the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Finance, Malaj said that appreciation of Lek against leading international currencies has helped Albania to reduce its public debt by 5.4%.

Finance Minister noted that Albania’s public debt stood at 74.5 % in 2021 and it has fallen to 58.9 % in the end of 2023.

“The effect of Lek appreciation from 2021 to 2023 is 5.4 percentage points from an estimated 15% decrease in the country’s public debt during this period,” he said.

However, Malaj noted that the national currency appreciation has negatively affected the customs revenue.

Finance Minister also underlined that the foreign direct investment flows in Albania rose over 15% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024.

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Presenting the central bank’s report for 2023, Sejko said that lek appreciation has provided an overall positive impact on the national economy.

“We increased the policy rate five times over 2022, for a cumulative effect of 2.25 percentage points, while in 2023 we increased the policy rate only twice, with a cumulative effect of 0.5 percentage points. This slowdown reflected the exchange rate strengthening and the consolidation stance of fiscal policy. Lek rapid appreciation helped in mitigating external inflationary pressures, while fiscal consolidation helped in curbing domestic pressures,” Sejko said.

According to him, lek appreciation has been and continues to be one of the most discussed economic issues of this period.

However – Sejko noted – the Albanian economy has been and remains an economy with a relatively high level of informality, a phenomenon with consequences in many economic indicators of the country, including – potentially – the exchange rate.

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In its latest Monetary Policy Report, central bank said that it uses a free and flexible exchange rate regime, which means the currency fluctuates freely up and down, depending on supply and demand.

The Report also notes that the exchange rate regime also largely depends on the dynamics of foreign trade exchanges.

The rise in the value of the national currency in 2023 is obviously influenced by a high foreign currency supply in the domestic foreign exchange market.

According to central bank, lek reached new record high in July 2023, when one Euro was traded at 103.2 lek, registering an annual appreciation of 12.1%.

After a slight depreciation in its value in the following months, national currency strengthened again in the last two months of 2023, with the Europe’s single currency further depreciating as it was exchanged at 102.8 lek.

According to the Bank of Albania, lek appreciation has had overall positive effects on the national economy, contributing to Albania’s relatively low inflation compared to other countries in the region.

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Lek value rose 8.5% year-on-year in second quarter of 2023 and it further appreciated by 12.1 in July.

According to central bank, the continued appreciation of the national currency has significantly improved the trade exchanges ratio, generating foreign currency surplus in the domestic market.

This improvement further accelerated in the third quarter due to the growth in country’s total exports by 34 %, while the remittances edged up by 14 % and the foreign direct investment flow rose 10 %, resulting in a significant positive surplus of the current balance and the overall balance of payments.

Central bank also said that Lek appreciation also has significantly helped in mitigating foreign inflationary pressures.

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At the end of the first half of the year, one euro was traded at 106.4 lek, showing that Albanian currency recorded an appreciation by 7% compared to the same period of the previous year and by 11% compared to the previous year.

The Bank of Albania says that lek appreciation accelerated at the end of first six months of 2023, with its value increasing by 3% in the domestic exchange market in June alone.

Central bank data show that the national currency has also recorded relatively significant appreciation against the U.S. dollar.

A U.S. dollar was exchanged at 99.1 lek in the end of June, showing appreciation of the national currency by 9% compared to the same period of 2022 and 13% compared to the previous year.

During this period, the central bank has kept holding auctions to purchase euro according to a calendar and in a bid to increase the foreign exchange reserve, estimating that the exchange rate fluctuations are within the central bank’s projections.

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