Latvia says final goodbye to the lat currency

Latvia has said its final goodbye to the lat currency today (July 1) after shopkeepers take down pricings in both euros and lats.

The regulation was originally adopted to give residents gradual adjustment to the euro. Business owners were required to recalculate all prices according to the fixed currency exchange rate of 1 euro per  0.7028 Lats.

Yesterday was the last day when Latvian commercial banks exchanged lats for euros. If anyone still possesses lats in cash, they can be exchanged for euros at the National Bank of Latvia.

Meanwhile, almost two-thirds or 61 percent of economically active Latvian residents, aged between 18 and 55, are used to euro, a survey conducted by TNS in collaboration with the LNT show "900 sekundes" reports.

A total of 20 percent of respondents said that they are definitely used to euro whilst 41 percent are 'rather' used to it. 37 percent of respondents said that they are not used to the euro currency, but 2 percent could not provide a specific answer.

The survey reveals that almost half or 52 percent of economically active Latvian residents would not like to see lat price tags in stores. 43 percent of respondents said they would like to see both lat and euro price tags for the goods they purchase in stores. 5 percent of respondents could not provide a specific answer. The survey was conducted from June 17-19, surveying 700 respondents online.