Romania, Record-High Economic Growth
Romania had the highest economic growth rate in the EU in the first quarter of the year, 5.6% against the corresponding period of 2016, the Eurostat announced. In contrast, the Eurozone reported a 1.7% growth rate, and the EU as a whole 2%.
Daniela Budu, 17.05.2017, 13:26
According to the National Statistics Institute, in the first quarter of the year Romania had a 5.7% economic growth rate compared to the corresponding period of last year, and the Government expects a 5.2% rate for the entire year. The first quarter of 2017 was the 7th consecutive one to report growth.
The figure exceeds the level on which the Cabinet has based the state budget for this year, and which has been seen by many as optimistic. The growth announced by the national authorities has been confirmed by the European statistics bureau, the Eurostat, which says Romania had the highest growth rate in the EU, namely 5.6%.
Economist Aurelian Dochia says that, although the figures only concern the first three months of the year, the Romanian economy is significantly more likely to perform as the Government expected. He warns however about the sustainability of this growth indicator:
Aurelian Dochia: “Sometimes there are significant differences between the preliminary figures and the final ones, and this happens everywhere in the world. Beyond this, however, there is no doubt that the economic performance for the first quarter is above expectations, even above the Government’s expectations, which everybody had dismissed as too optimistic. Still, we should not be blinded by excessive enthusiasm, we are only talking about the first 3 months of the year. We shall see whether and to what extent the dynamics will be maintained in the next three quarters. The growth rate is rather unlikely to stay at 5.7%, but it is becoming increasingly possible for the 5.2% figure that the Government used in planning the public budget for this year to be confirmed.”
The Fiscal Council however warns that the GDP growth has been fuelled primarily by consumption. PM Sorin Grindeanu says this performance is a confirmation of the economic measures taken by the Government, as well as the consequence of enhanced confidence from the business environment in the measures announced for the forthcoming period.
According to the Cabinet, the growth rate in the first quarter has been heralded by other positive developments in the economy. For instance, exports have reached an all-time high of 5.7 billion euros in March, and in the first 4 months of the year over 100,000 new stable jobs were created. The industrial output also sees substantial increases, while unemployment is at its lowest since 1989.
