The volume of construction works in Romania contracted by 10.8% y/y in the first two months of the year, according to data published by the statistics office INS. 

The annual decline sweetened from -17.9% y/y in January to -5.5% y/y in February.

It is possible but not very likely that the sluggish implementation of the electronic invoicing system e-factura caused late registration of works completed, so full Q1 data might be more relevant to the actual dynamics of the market. 

The residential buildings segment collapsed by 41.2% y/y, while the other segments fared decently well. Thus, the non-residential buildings segment actually expanded by 6% y/y, while the civil engineering works segment edged down by 1% y/y, possibly as the government prioritized defense spending that put the public budget under pressure in January-February.

“Being a winter month, the climate could have impacted the evolution of the sector,” deputy-head of CFA Society Adrian Codirlasu said.

However, the weather was rather warm this winter – which was seen in the record reserves of natural gas left in the deposits.

Notably, the unusual decline of the construction market was caused by only one segment – that of the residential buildings. This comes in contrast with the record rise in the sales of non-food goods (+20% y/y in February) driven by stronger consumer lending.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Dreamstime.com)