GDP down 0.7pct in H1 2026

  Romania's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased in H1 2026 by 0.7% unadjusted and by 1.6% seasonally adjusted, both year-on-year, according to provisional data published on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).As against Q2 2025, GDP was down 0.4% unadjusted and 2% seasonally adjusted series in Q2 2026.The INS says that the seasonally adjusted quarterly GDP did not change significantly following the revision of the estimates for the second quarter of 2026 in the provisional version from the signal version published on August 14, 2026.The Gross Domestic Product (seasonally adjusted data) estimated for Q2 2026 was RON 521.099 billion current prices.In Q2 2026, compared with Q1 2026, the Gross Domestic Product remained unchanged, going down 2.0% from Q2 2025.The estimated GDP for the first half of the year was RON 1,023.031 billion current prices, down in real terms by 1.6% from the first half of 2025.Unadjusted, the estimated Q2 2026 GDP was RON 494.446 billion current prices, down 0.4% in real terms from Q 2 2025.The estimated GDP for the first half of this year was RON 900.354 billion current prices, down 0.7% in real terms from the first half of 2025.To GDP growth in the first half of 2026 as against the same period last year, the following economic activities made positive contributions: construction (+0.7%), with a share of 6.2% in GDP formation which volume of activity increased by +12.3%; entertainment, cultural and recreational activities, repairs of household products and other services (+0.4%), with a share of 4.3% in GDP formation which volume of activity increased by +11.7%; agriculture, forestry and fisheries (+0.1%), with a share of 1.7% in GDP formation which volume of activity increased by +3.5%.A negative contribution to GDP growth was recorded by wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, transport and storage, hotels and restaurants (-0.9%), with a share of 21.6% in GDP formation which volume of activity decreased by 3.9%; industry (-0.5%), with a share of 16% in GDP formation and which volume of activity decreased by -2.9%; information and communications (-0.3%), with a share of 7.3% in GDP formation and which volume of activity decreased by -3.5%; real estate transactions (-0.3%), with a share of 7.5% in the formation of GDP and which volume of activity decreased by -4.5%; public administration and defence, social security in the public system, education, health and social work (-0.2%), with a share of 12.7% in the formation of GDP and which volume of activity decreased by 1.7%.The following sectors did not contribute to GDP growth: financial intermediation and insurance, with a share of 3.7% in GDP formation and which volume of activity increased by +1.2%; professional, scientific and technical activities, administrative services activities and support services activities, with a share of 7.6% in GDP formation and which volume of activity decreased by -0.6%.Net taxes on products, with a share of 11.4% in GDP formation, contributed +0.3% to GDP growth, with their volume increasing by +2.5%.From the point of view of GDP use, in the first half of 2026 as against the first semester of 2025, the evolution was mainly influenced by the following indicators: expenditure on final consumption of households, which volume decreased by 2.5%, contributing by -1.5% to the change in GDP; final consumption expenditure of general government, which volume increased by +1.7%, contributing +0.1% to GDP growth; collective consumption expenditure of general government, which volume increased by +6.0%, contributed 0.6% to GDP growth; gross fixed capital formation, which volume increased by +10.9%, contributed 2.4% to GDP growth.Net exports had a negative contribution to the change in GDP (-0.1%), as a consequence of rising volumes of imports of goods and services by +1.6% correlated with a slower growth in the volume of exports of goods and services of just +1.3%.