GDP dropped 6.2 pc in Q1

 The economy shrank 6.2 per cent in the first quarter 2009, compared to the same period of the past year, less than the previous estimate of 6.4 per cent. The decline was determined by marked decreases in agriculture and industry, according to the data of the National Statistics Institute. In nominal terms, GDP was RON 96.52 bln in the first quarter, falling 6.2 per cent in real terms against the same period of the past year. The shrinking was determined by an important decline of the volume of activity registered in agriculture, forestry and fisheries (-10.9 per cent), industry (-11.1 per cent), trade, vehicles and household appliances repairs, hotels and restaurants, transports and communications (-7.6 per cent) and financial activities, real estate, rental and services for companies (-3.8 per cent). The volume of the taxes per product collected to the state budget also dropped, the net taxes per product registering a fall of 9.4 per cent. The expenditure for the final consumption of the households decreased 12.3 per cent, consequence of the reduction of the volume of retail sale of commodities (-16 per cent) and of the services provided to population (-5.4 per cent). The IMF representative for Romania and Bulgaria, Tonny Lybek, has recently declared that the evolution of the Romanian economy will depend in the next quarters on the internal policies, and also on the global context, but the economic growth will enter a positive track "only" in the second half of 2010, Mediafax reports. For this year, the National Forecasting Commission (CNP) anticipates a reduction of GDP in real terms of 4 per cent, the predictions being similar to those of IMF and the European Commission. The IMF anticipates a contraction of the economy of 4.1 per cent this year, while the prediction of the European Commission is -4 per cent. For 2010, both the IMF and the European Commission anticipate a stagnation of the economy, while CNP anticipates a growth of 0.1 per cent.

Marked decrease of imports and exports

The trade deficit of Romania dropped 54.6 per cent in the first four months vs. the same period of 2008, to RON 12.133 bln (EUR 2.86 bln), both the exports and the imports enhancing their decline, to 7.8 per cent, and respectively 26.5 per cent, the INS data also show. In the first half of this year, the fall of the imports, of 25.2 per cent, exceeded the decline of 6.7 per cent registered by exports, while the trade deficit was RON 8.479 bln. In the first four months, important weights in the structure of exports and imports are held by the groups of products machinery and transport equipment. In April, the exports totaled RON 9.02 bln (EUR 2.13 bln), while the imports totaled RON 12.55 bln. Compared to April 2008, the exports dropped 11.3 per cent for values expressed in RON (22.9 per cent for values expressed in Euro), while the imports dropped 30.9 per cent in RON (40 per cent in Euro).

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