Current account deficit level drops
Romania’s current account deficit has dropped against the backdrop of lower demand and import levels.
Ştefan Stoica, 16.06.2026, 14:00
The struggle of the Romanian authorities with excessive deficit levels that affect Romania’s budget and financial stability is well known. The most serious challenge is the budget deficit, but government policies, many of which have a high social cost, have yielded encouraging results. The current account deficit level has dropped by over 12% in the first four months of the year, according to data published on Monday by the National Bank. In that period, the current account of the balance of payments saw a deficit of about 8 billion euros, compared to 9.1 billion euros between January and April 2025. The National Bank explains that the main factor that contributed to this was the reduction of the trade deficit and the increase in the surplus in services.
Within the structure of the current account deficit, the deficit of the balance of goods dropped by 700 million euros, and the balance of services grew by almost 200 million euros. Direct investments in Romania by non-residents passed 1.5 billion euros in total, compared to around 2.2 billion euros between January and April 2025. According to the National Bank, in the first quarter of the year, total external debt grew by approximately 1 billion euros, to 229.550 billion euros.
Economists believe that the improvement, translated into a reduction in the current account deficit, does not necessarily reflect a more competitive economy, but a slowdown in consumption and economic activity. The President of the Association of Financial and Banking Analysts in Romania, Flavius Jakubowicz, says the adjustment is not the result of a strong increase in exports, but of lower levels of domestic demand and imports. Flavius Jakubowicz:
“Romania is indeed addressing its external imbalance, but it is doing so through a rather fragile mechanism: lower demand rather than gaining competitiveness. An improvement that is obtained through a brake may evaporate as soon as consumption picks up again. The real test will be when economic growth returns. What we are seeing right now are deficit levels on the decrease, lower financing levels and still robust buffers. We could say that it’s a balance, but should not be confused it with the cure”.
There are, however, positive signals. Transport, IT and telecommunications services continue to bring a significant surplus to the external balance, and the National Bank’s foreign exchange reserves remain at a comfortable level, Flavius Jakubowicz emphasised. He adds, however, that the decrease in foreign direct investment by over 30% compared to last year is a reason for concern. Under the circumstances, he warns that Romania risks becoming increasingly dependent on loans to finance its external deficit, at a time when rating agencies are closely monitoring the levels of economic imbalance, which are still considerably high.
