Lithuania's Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas told Reuters on Monday there was no risk of a litas devaluation despite persistent speculation about Baltic currencies. "There is no reason to devalue the litas, and it is going to remain firm," Kirkilas said.
Kirkilas spoke as renewed devaluation talk gripped northern Baltic state Estonia and as economic worries in his own country were reflected in a five percent fall in the stock index OMX Vilnius last week, one of the largest drops this year. Devaluation speculation has persisted in the region since Latvia's lat currency weakened sharply in February.
Estonia's central bank said that "misleading information" on a local Russian-language Web site had caused mainly Russian speakers to panic buy foreign currency. Making its second statement on the issue in two weeks, the central bank said it "dismisses all rumours" and urged people not to believe any talk of possible devaluation.