Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: What currency is used in Romania?
The Romanian leu (Romanian pronunciation:[lew], plural lei [lej]; sign: L; ISO 4217 code: RON; numeric code: 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani (Romanian pronunciation:[banʲ], singular: ban [ban]), a word that is also used for "money" in the Romanian language.
Currency pairs are generally written by concatenating the ISO currency codes (ISO 4217) of the base currency and the counter currency, and then separating the two codes with a slash. Alternatively the slash may be omitted, or replaced by either a dot or a dash. A widely traded currency pair is the relation of the euro against the US dollar, designated as EUR/USD. The quotation "EUR/USD 1.2500" means that one euro is exchanged for 1.2500 US dollars. Here, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quote currency(counter currency). This means that 1 Euro can be exchangeable to 1.25 US Dollars. 
Currency strength expresses the value of currency. For economists, it is often calculated as purchasing power, while for financial traders, it can be described as an indicator, reflecting many factors related to the currency; for example, fundamental data, overall economic performance or interest rates. It can also be calculated from currency in relation to other currencies, usually using a pre-defined currency basket. A typical example of this method is the U.S. Dollar Index. The current trend in currency strength indicators is to combine more currency indexes in order to make forex movements easily visible. For the calculation of indexes of this kind, major currencies are usually used because they represent up to 90% of the whole forex market volume.
Currency strength is calculated from the U.S. Dollar Index, which is used as a reference for other currency indexes.
Many farmers concealed actual output from purchasing agencies to sell it illicitly to urban consumers. Hard foreign currencies were highly sought after, while highly valued Western items functioned as a medium of exchange or bribery in Stalinist countries, such as in Romania, where Kent cigarettes served as an unofficial extensively used currency to buy goods and services. Some service workers moonlighted illegally providing services directly to customers for payment.
The word "cedi" is the Akan word for cowry shell which were formerly used as currency in what is now Ghana. The "Monetaria moneta" or money cowry is not native to West African waters but is a common species in the Indian Ocean. The porcelain-like shells came to West Africa, beginning in the 14th century, through trade with Arab merchants. The shells became an important currency in the slave trade. The first modern coins exclusively used at the Gold Coast was produced in 1796 but cowries was used alongside coins and gold dust as currency until 1901.
The National Bank of Romania is responsible for the issue of the Romanian leu and as such it sets the monetary policy, holds the currency reserves and manages the exchange rate.
In 1896, Romanian stamps were overprinted in Turkish currency for use on ships passing between Constanța and Constantinople.
When speaking about complementary currencies, a number of overlapping and often interchangeable terms are in use: local or community currencies are complementary currencies used within a locality or other form of community (such as business-based or online communities); regional currencies are similar to local currencies but used within a larger geographical region; and sectoral currencies are complementary currencies used within a single economic sector, such as education or health care. Many private currencies are complementary currencies issued by private businesses or organizations. Other terms include alternative currency, auxiliary currency, and microcurrency. Mutual credit is a form of alternative currency, and thus any form of lending that does not go through the banking system can be considered a form of alternative currency. Barters are another type of alternative currency. These are actually exchange systems, which only trade items; thus without the use of any currency whatsoever. Finally, LETS is a special form of barter which trades points for items. One point stands for one worker-hour of work.
The official currency of Romania is the Romanian leu (RON). The motifs used are:
A government may officially set the rate of exchange of its currency with that of other currencies, typically the US dollar. When it does, the peg often overvalues the local currency relative to what its market value would be if it were a floating currency. Those in possession of the "harder" currency, for example expatriate workers, may be able to use the black market to buy the local currency at better exchange rates than they can get officially.
On political, social and economic criteria the divisions are as follows: Territories members of the European Union: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovenia Territories currently in negotiation process for EU membership: Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey Territories official candidates for EU membership: Albania and Macedonia Territories with "potential candidates" status for EU membership: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo On border control and trade criteria the divisions are as follows: Territories in the Schengen Area: Greece and Slovenia Territories that are legally bound to join the Schengen Area: Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania Territories in a customs union with the EU: Turkey Territories members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. On currency criteria the divisions are as follows: Territories members of the Eurozone: Greece and Slovenia Territories using the Euro without authorization by the EU: Kosovo and Montenegro Territories using national currencies and are candidates for the Eurozone: Bulgaria (lev), Croatia (kuna), Romania (leu) Territories using national currencies: Albania (lek), Bosnia and Herzegovina (convertible mark), Macedonia (denar), Serbia (dinar) and Turkey (lira). On military criteria the divisions are as follows: Member territories of NATO: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey Member territories of the Partnership for Peace with Individual Partnership Action Plan and Membership Action Plan for joining NATO: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia Member territories of the Partnership for Peace: Serbia On the recent political, social and economic criteria there are two groups of countries: Former communist territories: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia Territories with capitalist past: Greece and Turkey During the Cold War the Balkans were disputed between the two blocks. Greece and Turkey were members of NATO, Bulgaria and Romania of the Warsaw Pact, while Yugoslavia was proponent of a third way and was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina kept an observer status within the organisation.
Complementary currencies describe a wide group of exchange systems, currencies or scrips designed to be used in combination with standard currencies or other complementary currencies. They can be valued and exchanged in relationship to national currencies but also function as media of exchange on their own. Complementary currencies lie outside the nationally defined legal realm of legal tender and are not used as such. Rate of exchange, scope of circulation and use in combination with other currencies differs greatly between complementary currency systems, as is the case with national currency systems.
Some complementary currencies incorporate value scales based on time or the backing of real resources (gold, oil, services, etc.). A time-based currency is valued by the time required to perform a service in hours, notwithstanding the potential market value of the service. Another type of complementary monetary systems is the barter, an exchange of specific goods or services is performed without the use of any currency.
Romania, as a member state of the European Union, is required to adopt the common European currency, the Euro. For this reason Romania must fulfil the five Maastricht criteria, of which it met two as of May 2018.
Romanian euro coins have not yet been designed. Romanian law requires that the coat of arms of the country be used on coin designs. In Romanian, the currency is called "euro" , and its subunit "eurocent" .
During colonial times, the currency used in what is now Indonesia was the Netherlands Indies gulden.[7] The country was invaded in 1942 by Japan, which began printing its own version of the gulden, which remained in use until March 1946.[8][9] The Netherlands authorities and the Indonesian nationalists, who were fighting for independence, both introduced rival currencies in 1946 with the Dutch printing a new gulden, and the Indonesians issuing the first version of the rupiah on 3 October 1946.[10][9] Between 1946 and 1950 a large number of currencies circulated in Indonesia, with the Japanese gulden still remaining prevalent alongside the two new currencies and various local variants.[9] This situation ended when the federal government, now in complete control following the Dutch recognition of its independence, initiated currency reforms between 1950 and 1951.[9] The rupiah was declared the sole legal currency, with other currencies being exchanged for rupiah at rates which were often unfavourable to the holders.[9]
Today, the finds from both Romania and Ukraine, as well as those from Moldova, are recognised as belonging to the same cultural complex. It is generally called the Cucuteni culture in Romania and the Trypillia culture in Ukraine. In English, "Cucuteni–Tripolye culture" is most commonly used to refer to the whole culture, with the Ukrainian-derived term "Cucuteni–Trypillia culture" gaining currency following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Currency counters are commonly used in vending machines to determine what amount of money has been deposited by customers.
Economy of Romania History of coins in Romania Banknotes of the Romanian leu Romania and the euro List of currencies in Europe
As of April 2015, the Romanian government concluded it was still on track to attain its target for euro adoption in 2019, both in regards of ensuring full compliance with all nominal convergence criteria and in regards of ensuring a prior satisfying degree of "real convergence". The Romanian target for "real convergence" ahead of euro adoption, is for its GDP per capita (in purchasing power standards) to be above 60% of the same average figure for the entire European Union, and according to the latest outlook, this relative figure was now forecast to reach 65% in 2018 and 71% in 2020, after having risen at the same pace from 29% in 2002 to 54% in 2014. However, in September 2015 Romania's central bank governor Mugur Isarescu said that the 2019 target was no longer realistic. The target date was initially 2022, as Teodor Meleșcanu, the foreign minister of Romania declared on 28 August 2017 that, as they "meet all formal requirements", Romania "could join the currency union even tomorrow". However, he thought Romania "will adopt the euro in five years." In March 2018, however, members of the ruling Party of Social Democrats (PSD) voted at an extraordinary congress to back a 2024 target year to adopt the euro as Romania's currency.
In the Socialist Republic of Romania (proclaimed 1965) ten-bani coins were replaced with fifteen-bani coins. Following the return of democracy to Romania in 1990, hyperinflation took place which made bani coins obsolete. However, on 1 July 2005, Romania redenominated its currency at 10,000 old lei to 1 new leu. The 1,000 lei coin, in use since 2000, was replaced by the new ten-bani. Early issues of the coin, from its first year 2005, have a diameter 0.1mm narrower than the official measurements.
Construction activity (about 10% of GDP) has increased due to recent tax incentives. Romania is becoming an increasingly popular choice for British property investors, according to recent research from Currencies Direct. The latest Global Emerging Markets Index from the foreign exchange company shows that Romania has made the top ten for the first time, reaching number nine. The monthly index is based on the number of foreign exchange transfers undertaken by the firm to emerging market regions for property purchases. According to Currencies Direct, Romania has seen significant increases in house prices in recent years and its interest rate has dropped from a level of 154 per cent in 1997 to 8.9 per cent in 2005.
The levels of contamination and the overall "dirtyness" of bills led Australia to introduce a plastic currency in 1988. These notes are less prone to contamination due to lack of the fabric that can hold crystalline structures that illicit drugs often take. Australia now also prints polymer currency for almost two dozen other countries, including Israel, Malaysia, Mexico and Romania.
In addition to requiring a certain stage, each human item or alien class must be purchased using currency earned in game. The aliens are awarded "frags" for killing their foes which may be used to evolve (these points are commonly called "evolution points" or "evos" by players). The Humans gain "credits". Players earn currency by killing enemy players or by destroying enemy spawn or power structures ("Reactor" and "Overmind"); the amount of received currency depends on what class the opponent was (or what structure was destroyed) and how much of the target's total damage was dealt by the killing player. As a mechanism to encourage builders, who naturally don't engage in combat, players are also rewarded currency every two minutes by simply staying alive.
The leu (pronounced ), plural: lei (); (ISO 4217 code RON; numeric code 946), "leo" (lion) in English is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 "bani" (singular: "ban"). On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu (ROL) to a new leu (RON). 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL. Romania joined the European Union on 1 January 2007 and initially hoped to adopt the euro in 2014, but with the deepening of the Euro crisis and with its own problems, such as a low workforce productivity, postponed its adoption plans indefinitely.
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2017. Inflation under 5% is in green.
The parallel exchange rate is what Venezuelans believe the Venezuelan currency is worth compared to the US$. In the first few years of Chávez's office, his newly created social programs required large payments in order to make the desired changes. On 5 February 2003, the government created CADIVI, a currency control board charged with handling foreign exchange procedures. Its creation was to control capital flight by placing limits on individuals and only offering them so much of a foreign currency. This limit to foreign currency led to a creation of a currency black market economy since Venezuelan merchants rely on foreign goods that require payments with reliable foreign currencies. As Venezuela printed more money for their social programs, the bolívar continued to devalue for Venezuelan citizens and merchants since the government held the majority of the more reliable currencies.