Romania’s economy grows by 4.8% in 2016

Romania’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 4.8% in 2016, the highest growth rate since 2008, according to flash data released by the National Statistics Institute (INS) on Tuesday, February 14. In the fourth quarter, the economy increased by 4.7% compared to the same quarter of 2015. The seasonally adjusted increase was 4.8%. Compared to the previous quarter, the economy went up by 1.3% in the last three months of 2016. Domestic consumption was the main engine for last year’s economic growth, due to fiscal stimuli and wage increases. The retail trade turnover went up by 13.5% in 2016 compared to 2015. The wholesale trade also went up by 7.7%. Car trade was also up by 18% and the turnover in the population services sector increased by 7.3%, according to INS data. Romania’s industry had a lower contribution to the economic growth last year, as the industrial production only increased by 1.7% compared to 2015. The construction sector was a drag on the economic growth, registering a 4.8% contraction, mainly due to lower volume of infrastructure work. The INS will present more detailed information about the GDP structure and the sectors that contributed most to the economic growth on March 7. EC improves Romania’s economic growth estimate for 2017 to 4.4% editor@romania-insider.com