Analyst: Romania's current account deficit, above 3% of GDP this year

Romania’s current account deficit could exceed 3% of the GDP this year, reaching the highest level since 2012, due to the mix of loose economic policies, said Andrei Radulescu, senior economist at Banca Transilvania. The deficit could grow to 3.3% of the GDP in 2018, respectively 3.8% of the GDP in 2019, Radulescu added, reports local Ziarul Financiar. Banca Transilvania analysts expect a reduction in the share of the total external debt to GDP from 54.5% in 2016 to 49.4% in 2019. This scenario is supported by the prospect of a nominal GDP increasing at a higher pace than the total external debt. The foreign direct investments in Romania went down in the first half of this year due to tensions in the public area, increased labor costs and higher risks to macro-financial stability in the medium term, according to statistics of Romania’s National Bank. editor@romania-insider.com