INS: Economy dropped 8.7 pc in Q2

Economy dropped in Q2 by 8.7 per cent over the same period of 2008, and by 1.1 per cent vs. the first three months of this year, contractions of 0.1 points below the most recent estimates, the most significant decline, of 14.2 per cent, being registered by the constructions sector, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced yesterday, Mediafax informs.

Thus, the GDP registered in H1 of this year a fall of 7.6 per cent against the H1 of the previous year, a projection similar to that indicated initially by INS. In nominal terms, GDP was RON 120.4 bln in current prices in Q2 and RON 206.451 bln after the first half of the year. The new GDP estimate for the end of the year, considered for the budgetary rectification, is RON 497.3 bln, down from the initial forecast on RON 531 bln.

In the first three months of the year, the contraction of the economy was 6.2 per cent vs. the same period of 2008.

"The 8.7 per cent diminution of GDP in Q2 2009, compared to Q2 2008 was due to the important reduction of the volume of activity registered in agriculture, forestry and fisheries (-9.1 per cent), industry (-7.3 per cent), constructions (-14.2 per cent), trade, rehabilitation of cars and household appliances, hotels and restaurants, transport and communications (-11.4 per cent) and financial activities, real estate, rental and services for companies (-7.4 per cent). Other services increased their volume of activity by 1.4 per cent," reads INS press release regarding GDP.

Net taxes by product collected to the state budget - decline of 13.6 per cent

The domestic demand decreased by 15.6 per cent in Q2 compared to the same quarter of 2008, from the point of view of GDP utilization, mainly because of the 12 per cent reduction of the total final consumption and the 25.6 per cent reduction of the gross formation of fixed capital, Mediafax informs.

The expenditures for the final consumption of the population's households decreased 15 per cent, as a consequence of the reduction of the volume of retail sale of commodities (-20.6 per cent) and of the services provided to population (-20.4 per cent). Compared to Q1, reductions of the volume of activity were registered in agriculture, forestry and fisheries (-1.7 per cent), constructions (-11 per cent), trade, rehabilitation of cars and household appliances, hotels and restaurants, transports and communications (-4.4 per cent), and financial activities, real estate transactions, leasing and services for companies (-4.1 per cent). Industry and other services increased their volume of activity by 4.5 per cent, respectively 0.2 per cent.

In the same period, the volume of net taxes per product collected to the state budget declined by 3 per cent. The total final consumption decreased by 2.8 per cent, chiefly at the expense of 3.5 per cent smaller consumer expenditures of the population households, but the final individual consumption of the public administrations and the effective final collective consumption increased 1.4 per cent and, respectively, by 4.4 per cent.

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