August 5-11

A review of the most important events in Romania this past week.

România Internațional, 10.08.2013, 00:59

The Romanian Central Bank cuts the monetary interest rate and lowers the inflation forecast

This week, the National Bank of Romania has reduced the monetary policy interest rate from 5% to a record low of 4.5%, thus exceeding the expectations of analysts who were only thinking of a 0.25 % drop. According to the Central Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu, the decision was made in order to boost loaning. The Governor hopes that starting September this drop will reflect into the interest rates charged by banks. Isarescu has stated that the National Bank will do its best, using the tools available to it, to make sure that interest rates for loans in the national currency get as close as possible to the rates on foreign currency loans, so that bank clients may choose to borrow lei and thus reduce the risks related to exchange rate variations. Also this week, the Central Bank has lowered the inflation forecast for 2013 and for next year by 0.1%, to 3.1%. The quarterly inflation report points to a stronger disinflation process for the forthcoming period and an accelerated economic growth. The economic growth forecast for this year has been upgraded to 2%, thanks to export growth, a good industrial output and a good agricultural year.

The National Statistics Institute comes up with fresh data regarding salaries and consumption in Romania

According to data made public by the National Statistics Institute, in Romania the average salary dropped in June 2013 by 0.3% as compared to the previous month, standing at approximately 365 Euros. The biggest salaries were reported in the oil and gas industry — some 900 Euros — and the lowest in the hospitality sector — 200 Euros. State employees benefited from a slight increase in their salaries as compared to the previous month, more specifically 0.2% in public administration, 0.6% in health care and social security. In the education system, however, salaries dropped by 1.6%, due to the fall in the number of additional teaching hours because of the summer holiday. General consumption also dropped in the month of June, as people bought less fuel, food, alcohol and tobacco.

Scorching heat affects half of Romania

The entire week, the western half of Romania has been under alert for extreme heat. The highest temperatures reached 37-40 degrees Celsius, and thermal discomfort has been severe. In the capital city Bucharest and 18 counties in the south, south-west and center, the highs have been only 2-3 degrees lower, and the temperature — humidity ratio exceeded the critical threshold of 80 points.

Another Romanian battalion travels to Afghanistan

Early in the week, the Romanian 151 Infantry Battalion the Black Wolves returned to the Zabul province in Afghanistan for a fresh 6-month mission. They replaced their colleagues in the 32nd battalion, known as the Yellow Scorpions. It’s the Blacks Wolves’ third mission to that country. The Romanian soldiers will defend the security of Zabul, where Taliban attacks are reported on a daily basis, and will ensure the protection of humanitarian convoys. There are 1254 Romanian military deployed in Afghanistan.

The Romanian Village of Sfantu Gheorge plays host to the Anonimul Independent Film Festival

The 10th Anonimul International Independent Film Festival started on Friday in the village of Sfantu Gheorghe, in the Danube Delta. For 10 days, the audience will be able to watch over 100 films from France, Russia, Canada, Spain, Egypt, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, the US, Serbia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Iran, Argentina, Poland, Brazil, Israel, Moldova and Romania. There are 7 feature films and 40 short-reels competing for the title of best film. The guest of honour this year is Hungarian Oscar winning director Istvan Szabo, who will be awarded the Anonimul lifetime achievement trophy. The 10th edition of the festival was opened by “The Grandmaster,” directed by Wong Kar Wai, the film that also opened the Berlin festival. The last film to be screened will be Romanian director Valentin Hotea’s debut film Roxanne.

Four Romanian football squads have qualified for the European football cups play-offs

All Romanian teams proved their mettle in the European football competitions as they booked their tickets for the group stage play-off sessions. Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest made headway into the Champions League’s playoffs, after eliminating Dinamo Tbilisi from Georgia. In the Europa League Astra Giurgiu, Pandurii Targu Jiu and Petrolul Ploiesti have also moved forward, after defeating AS Trencin from Slovenia, Hapoel Tel Aviv from Israel and Vitesse Arnhem from the Netherlands respectively.