Romanian economic sentiment indicator ESI hits post-Covid high after two-year rally

Romania’s Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI), compiled by the European Commission based on the responses of managers in the main sectors of the economy, as well as consumers, hit in October 2024 the highest level since the Covid crisis (105.9 on a scale where values above 100 units mean positive sentiment) after a rally of more than two years.

However, the discrepancy between managers’ expectations in retail and the consumers’ caution indicates certain discrepancies among their sentiments.

The indicator for the entire European Union increased to 100 points (neutral sentiment) and that for the euro area remains in the “negative” sentiment area (99.2 points).

The bullish sentiment in Romania is driven by the managers in the sectors of retail (12.3% positive balance of views expressed by managers) and services (+8.8%), while being dragged down by the consumers’ sentiment (-12.2%) and by the managers in construction (-5.9%).

Notably, the sentiment of the managers in the industry turned positive (+0.9% positive balance) after more than one year.

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