Knocking off four zeros from its bank notes, Romania's new leu will not spark inflation and will lead to the currency becoming convertible in the next two years

Knocking off four zeros from its bank notes, Romania's new leu will not spark inflation and will lead to the currency becoming convertible in the next two years, according to the National Bank governor. The introduction of the new currency, the leu, will take 22 months, it was announced by Mugur Isarescu on Sunday. On Tuesday, a law obliging retailers to advertise prices in the old and new currency will begin. On 1 July, the new "heavy" leu will physically come into circulation and both currencies will be used concurrently until 1 January 2007, when the old leu will become obsolete. The date coincides with the day when Romania hopes to join the European Union. Isarescu said the developments with Romania's national currency, which means "lion" in Romanian, would see an end to rampant inflation and mark a period of price stability.