Romania's gross external debt increased by EUR 9.2 billion in the first ten months of the year, to a total of EUR 118.9 bln (nearly 60% of GDP).

Out of the total, the public debt amounts to EUR 50.7 bln, 28.6% more compared to the end of last year.

The increase in the direct public debt was prompted by the bonds issued by the Finance Ministry worth about EUR 9 bln, and the net loans contracted in the amount of EUR 548 mln, Romania's National Bank (BNR) says in a report.

During January-October 2020, the private external debt reached the value of EUR 32.7 bln, down by EUR 831 mln compared to the level recorded at the end of 2019, of which EUR 125 mln were the deposits of non-residents (treated as external debt for this report).

Of the total volume, long-term external debt amounted to EUR 84.7 bln, up 14.1% from the end of last year, while short-term external debt decreased by 3.5% to EUR 34.2 bln.

The long-term external debt service rate (the ratio of long term external debt service and the exports of goods and services) was 19.7% in January-October 2020, comparable to 19.3% in 2019.

The coverage of imports of goods and services (the foreign reserves divided by the average monthly import of goods and services) calculated for Jan-Oct, 2020 improved to 5.3 months, compared to 4.5 months in 2019, as the imports decreased. 

(Photo: Mattwatt/ Dreamstime)

iulian@romania-insider.com