In January - August 2024, the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 17,858 million, compared with EUR 13,830 million in January - August 2023, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) informs in a press release on Monday.The breakdown shows that the deficit on trade in goods widened by EUR 2,634 million, the surplus on services fell by EUR 863 million, the primary income deficit increased by EUR 979 million, while the secondary income surplus grew by EUR 448 million.Non-residents' direct investments in Romania totalled EUR 4,139 million (compared with EUR 4,382 million in January - August 2023), of which equity (including the estimated reinvestment of earnings) and intercompany lending recorded net values of EUR 3,563 million and EUR 576 million, respectively.In January - August 2024, total external debt increased by EUR 14,189 million to EUR 182,524 million, of which: long-term external debt at end-August 2024 ran at EUR 133,389 million (73.1 percent of total external debt), up 9.2 percent against end-2023; short-term external debt at end-August 2024 amounted to EUR 49,135 million (26.9 percent of total external debt), up 6.3 percent from end-2023.Long-term external debt service ratio stood at 13.8 percent in August 2024 against 18 percent in 2023. At end-August 2024, goods and services import cover ran at 5.9 months, as compared to 5.6 months at end-2023.At end-August 2024, the ratio of the National Bank of Romania's foreign exchange reserves to short-term external debt by remaining maturity came in at 101.1 percent, as against 99.7 percent at end-2023, the central bank points out.
On Friday, January 3, aerospace and defense company Raytheon Technologies was awarded a USD 946 million contract by the US Pentagon to deliver an additional Patriot missile systems to Romania, aimed at bolstering the country's air defense capabilities by 2029. The contract, which includes advanced radars, control stations, and interceptor missiles, marks Romania's third order […]
Romanian mountain rescuers announced on Friday, January 3, that they registered a record number of interventions and 161 calls for emergency assistance in the past 24 hours. A total of 162 people were rescued, over 100 of whom required transport to a hospital. "An unwanted absolute record of mountain rescue and first aid interventions in […]
Far-right politician and former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu announced in a message on X that he will appeal the annulment of the Romanian presidential elections before the European Court of Human Rights. On December 6, 2024, as Romanians abroad had already begun to vote, Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) unanimously annulled the entire presidential election process, […]
Romania seems poised to become a bigger tourist attraction in 2025 after being recommended as a stellar destination by Vogue and CNN. Both publications signal that their choice for Romania was determined by the overtourism noticed in other locations. “The lifestyle editors at Vogue thought long and hard about the best places to travel in […]
The American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania) expresses its concern over the fiscal measures announced by the Government, but also about the immediate deadline for their implementation, January 1, 2025, which puts the business environment in a difficult situation and further affects economic predictability and investor confidence."Over the past five years, AmCham […]
Romania has become a full member of the Schengen Area at midnight, in the night between Tuesday, December 31, and Wednesday, January 1.Thus, after joining the free movement space with its air and sea borders, as of Wednesday, Romania also joined the Schengen area with its land borders.According to the General Inspectorate of the Border […]
