Statistics: Romania's December trade deficit narrows 45%

Romania's trade deficit narrowed in December 45.8% from the same period of 2008 to €850.6 million (3.6 billion lei) on 18.9% rise in exports paired with the 9.9% decline in imports, data from the National Institute of Statistics show.The Euro value of commodities exported by Romania increased by 18.9% from December 2008 to €2.33 billion, while imports dropped 9.9% to €3.18 billion. When expressed in lei, exports rose 29.6% and imports dropped 1.9%.Romania's trade deficit fell for the 15th month in a row.

In December, total exports to non-EU countries stood at €752.2 million, up 19.1% from year-ago period, while exports to EU Member States rose 18.8% to €1.6 billion. Expressed in lei, Romania exported commodities to non-EU countries worth 32.7% more than a year earlier, and to EU Member States 28.2% more.

As for imports, the biggest decline was recorded on the trade with EU Member States. Romania imported commodities worth €2.2 billion from EU countries, 12.6% less than a year earlier when imports stood at around €2.53 billion.Imports from non-EU countries fell 3% in December to €967 million, according to NIS' estimates.Compared to November, exports fell 15.4% in December while imports declined 11.3% when expressed in euro.