In the first quarter of 2014, the balance-of-payments' current account posted a deficit of EUR 261 million as compared with a surplus of EUR 6 million in the same year-ago period, amid the increase in income deficit (by EUR 717 million), according to Romania’s National Bank (BNR).

The commercial deficit from international trade of goods was slightly lower in the first quarter, at EUR 546 million, while on the services side, Romania had a surplus of EUR 744 million, 27 percent higher than in the first three months of 2013.

The income deficit, however, almost doubled to EUR 1.55 billion. Current transfers went up by 35 percent, to EUR 1.09 billion.

Non-residents’ direct investment in Romania totaled EUR 570 million, up 30.1 percent as compared with January – March 2013, of which equity stakes, including reinvested earnings, amounted to EUR 514 million and intragroup loans were EUR 56 million.

Romania’s total external debt decreased by EUR 2.8 billion, compared to the end of 2013, to EUR 93.2 billion.

Out of this, medium and long-term external debt stood at EUR 75.3 billion, down 2.1 percent from end-2013. Short-term external debt at end-March 2014 totaled EUR 17.93 billion (19.2 percent of total external debt), down 6.4 percent from end-2013.

Total external debt service was EUR 14.31 billion for the period January – March 2014.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com