Romanian PM: Country is stable, EUR 1 billion from World Bank for unpredictable situations

Romania's situation is stable and the country will soon approve a EUR 1 billion credit line from the World Bank, said the country's Prime Minister Victor Ponta (in picture) on Tuesday evening. He mentioned the local currency’s fluctuation, saying it was fluctuating less than other currencies in the region, and that the Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has all the tools to keep things under control.

The EUR 1 billion from the World Bank should be money to hand for unpredictable situations, said Ponta. This will be the biggest credit line the World Bank has ever given Romania. At the beginning of May, Romania's currency, the RON, reached a new low against the EUR, of some RON 4.4168 to the euro. The Romanian Central Bank needed to intervene to keep the rate at stable levels, according to dealers. The Romanian Statistics Institute on Tuesday announced the country entered technical recession in the first quarter of the year, with a quarter-on-quarter drop in GDP of 0.1 percent. Analysts however expect the second quarter – April to June – to see a pick up in the country's economy. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Gov.ro)