The Romanian government has amended its fiscal austerity rules to ease restrictions on spending by local authorities, Digi24 reported. The decision modifies Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 52/2025, which had previously frozen most local...
Economic growth is expected to accelerate progressively in 2024 and 2025, and somewhat more pronounced than anticipated, in the conditions of the tempering of inflation and the gradual recovery of external demand, but especially against the background of the conduct of fiscal policy and the use of European funds related to the Next Generation EU instrument, the members of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) say, according to the Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting on monetary policy issues of May 13, 2024, published on Wednesday.According to the source, household consumption is expected to return this year and remain the main determinant of the GDP advance in 2025, in the context of substantial increases in wages and social transfers superimposed on the downward trend of the inflation rate, but also in the conditions of the real levels of interest rates at credits and deposits of the population.A significant contribution to economic growth will probably continue to come from the gross fixed capital formation, whose dynamics are expected to decrease sharply in the 2024-2025 interval, after the large growth in 2023, but to remain particularly high from the historical outlook, the document reads.The BNR Minutes also show that the investment activity will continue to be supported by the attraction and use of European funds, in a significant volume, but decreasing compared to 2022-2023; net export will contract, and its contribution to GDP dynamics will remain negative in 2025; the current account deficit is likely to sharply slow its downward correction as a share of GDP in 2024-2025 and will therefore remain well above European standards, continuing to constitute a major vulnerability and induce risks to inflation, the sovereign risk premium and, finally, of the sustainability of economic growth.Uncertainties and increased risks stem from the conduct of fiscal and revenue policies, having as sources in 2024 the result of the budget execution from the first months of the year, the dynamics of wages in the public sector and the full impact of the new pension law, to which is added the average-term inflation's evolution, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, as well as the economic developments in Europe, especially in Germany.The annual inflation rate is expected to decrease in December 2024 to 4.9 percent, compared to the level of 4.7 percent previously anticipated, and to decrease only marginally within the target range at the end of the projection horizon, respectively to 3.4 percent in March 2026, in line with previous forecasts.At the same time, the increase in the unit labour cost is expected to moderate slightly in the current year, remaining noticeably more alert, and its transfer, at least partially, into consumer prices could be favoured by the situation of consumer demand in different segments, several members of the Council said.The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania decided, in the meeting of May 13, to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at the level of 7% per year.Also, the BNR Board agreed to keep the interest rate for the lending facility (Lombard) at 8% per annum and the interest rate for the deposit facility at 6% per annum, but also to maintain the current levels of the mandatory minimum reserve rates for the liabilities in RON and in foreign currency of credit institutions.The key interest rate has been unchanged since January 2023, when the BNR increased the interest rate to 7% per annum, from 6.75% per annum.
The Romanian government has amended its fiscal austerity rules to ease restrictions on spending by local authorities, Digi24 reported. The decision modifies Emergency Ordinance (OUG) 52/2025, which had previously frozen most local...
The Romanian software and IT services industry continued its growth trajectory in 2024, exceeding the EUR 17.7 billion turnover threshold, a nominal increase of over 13% y/y or EUR 2.1 billion compared to the previous year, according to data presented by Diana Şipoş, executive director of the Employers' Association of the Software and Services Industry […]
Romanian telecom operator Digi Communications (BVB: DIGI) plans to list its Spanish subsidiary in an initial public offering (IPO) expected to value the business at around EUR 2.5 billion, Profit.ro...
International rating agency Fitch has affirmed the issuer default rating (IDR) of Romanian state-controlled natural gas group Romgaz (BVB: SNG) at BBB-/negative, in line with the country's sovereign, the highest rating the agency could have assigned to the company. However, Romgaz's BBB- rating benefits from a one-notch uplift from its bb+ Standalone Credit Profile (SCP) […]
The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington (ICSID) rejected the Romanian government's request to terminate the arbitration case filed by the Bulgarian group Eurohold (Eurohold Bulgaria AD) and its insurance arm Euroins Insurance Group (EIG) due to the withdrawal of the license and the declaration of bankruptcy of Romanian subsidiary Euroins Romania […]
Swiss cement producer Holcim has signed a binding agreement to acquire Germany’s Xella Group, one of the largest players in Romania’s construction materials industry, Profit.ro reported. The deal, valued at EUR...