Romania’s service exports, EUR 6.6 bln higher than imports

Romania exported services worth EUR 17 billion in the first ten months of 2017, up by 16% compared to the same period of 2016, according to Romania’s National Bank (BNR) data. The service imports totaled EUR 10.5 billion in the same period, up 27% year-on-year. Romania thus recorded a EUR 6.6 billion surplus on the services segment. The service categories that recorded the highest increases in exports last year were tourism, where exports were 46% higher than in the first ten months of 2016, IT&C (+22%), and financial services (+17%). Foreign tourists who came to Romania spent EUR 1.9 billion in the first ten months of 2017, EUR 600 million more than in the same period of 2016. However, Romania had a deficit of EUR 740 million on this segment, as Romanian tourists spent some EUR 2.64 billion abroad. The biggest surpluses were recorded in road transport services (EUR 3.1 billion), manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (EUR 2.28 billion), and computer services (EUR 1.3 billion). editor@romania-insider.com