Romania’s trade gap shrinks by 26% y/y in Q3, but it’s still wider than in 2021
The trade deficit in Romania contracted by 26% y/y to EUR 7.07 billion in Q3, driven by subdued demand for consumption and lower cost of energy imports.
The exports contracted by 5.1% y/y to EUR 22.86 billion, and the imports dropped even faster, by 11% y/y to EUR 29.93 billion in the quarter.
The trade gap in the 12-month period to September decreased by 7.7% y/y to EUR 29.5 billion.
This accounts for 9.7% of the annual GDP calculated as of the end of June (latest data available), down from 12.3% in September 2022 – but not far from 8.6% calculated in September 2021. Before the economic crisis in 2020, the trade gap to GDP ratio was 8.0% in September 2019, calculated on comparable terms.
The ratio is expected by the state forecasting body CNP to ease only marginally in the coming years as more moderate demand for consumption would be offset by demand for investments.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Prasit Rodphan/Dreamstime.com)
