Investments in Romanian economy continue to drop in Q1

Net investments in the Romanian economy dropped by 3.1% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2016, reaching EUR 2.84 billion. The decrease was due to lower investments in machinery and other expenses, which canceled the advance of new constructions. The largest investments were allocated to machinery, amounting to EUR 1.34 billion in the first quarter. However, they were 6.5% lower year-on-year. They were followed by investments in new constructions worth EUR 1.2 billion, up 5% year-on-year. The investments for other expenses reached EUR 254 million, down 17.9% year-on-year. Other investments were allocated for geological and drilling works, but also for agriculture. The industry attracted the largest investments in the first quarter, with a share of 35.3% of the total, followed by trade and services (30.4%), construction (25.9%), and agriculture (4.4%). Last year, investments in the Romanian economy fell by 3.3% compared to 2015, to EUR 15.7 billion, after a sharp drop in the fourth quarter. editor@romania-insider.com