The dollar's appreciation against the euro has reached such a pitch that Romania's National Bank has begun printing a parallel leu that exists only to be converted into dollars at the border, and every supermarket in Bucharest has opened a dedicated dollar-only checkout lane staffed by an employee whose sole job is to hold a calculator and look apologetic.
The measure follows a government decision that any imported product priced in dollars must now be paid for in physical dollar bills carried across the border in canvas sacks by a new agency, the Directorate for Strategic Currency Escorting. Its director, appointed Tuesday, said the agency has already escorted «four hundred and eleven sacks of oil» from the Port of Constanța to a warehouse where they are stacked according to the price of Brent crude.
At the same time, the Finance Ministry has ordered all state employees to greet each other in the morning with the current exchange rate instead of «good morning», and the Bucharest metro has replaced its station announcements with a voice reading the dollar-leu quote every thirty seconds. Commuters report that the practice has made them strangely calm about inflation.
Oil companies operating in Romania have been instructed to pay for crude in dollar coins, which the central bank is now minting in denominations of one dollar and delivering by armored van to refineries. A refinery manager in Ploiești said the coins arrive «warm and slightly sticky» and that his staff have begun referring to the dollar as «the small president».
The National Bank declined to comment, but a spokesperson confirmed that the leu is «fine» and that the dollar is «just visiting».