OMV Petrom (BVB: SNP), the largest energy company in Romania, no longer buys crude oil from Russia for consumption at the Romanian refinery, company officials told Economica.net. Even if it is going to be more expensive, OMV Petrom will seek to buy crude oil from other sources. By its decision, OMV Petrom follows a trend of an informal ban on Russian oil that will probably soon become formal in Europe - after such a ban was enacted in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. While sanctions on Russian natural gas are unlikely at this point because of the economic damage they would cause, Europe could better withstand an embargo on Russian oil. "We have chosen not to process crude oil from Russia. We bring non-Russian crude oil, it may originate from ex-Soviet republics - but not Russia. We also look to North or West Africa [for oil supplies]. We also have the offer of crude oil from Kazakhstan on the table. But all purchases are made through our London office (OMV Trading), which looks at all options for purchases," said Radu Caprau, a member of Petrom's management responsible for refining and marketing. "Russian oil would have been delivered at a discount, but we are not buying. It is our way of sanctioning Russia. It was our decision and that of the OMV group, they are going in the same direction as well," the official explained.
Romanian retail chain La Cocoş recorded a turnover of RON 1.18 billion (EUR 237 million) in 2024, marking a 20.7% y/y increase and becoming the first domestically owned retailer to exceed the RON 1 billion benchmark, according to Ziarul Financiar. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Iulian Nica, La Cocoş...
Even though Romania's currency, RON (leu), has depreciated relatively steeply in the past weeks, compared to historic low volatility, ING Romania maintains its exchange rate forecast for this year and argues that the national currency could recover from recent losses. "However, it is important to look at the bigger picture: financial markets can often have […]
Romania's industrial production index contracted by 4.2% y/y in Q1 and neared the lowest level in the past three years, according to the statistics office INS. The seasonal and workday-adjusted index (-0.4% q/q) has followed a visible downward trend after the post-Covid recovery in 2021 and 2022. The seasonal and workday-adjusted index in Q1 was […]
The net foreign direct investments to Romania contracted by 29% y/y to EUR 4.87 billion in 12 months to March 2025, after a 33% y/y contraction (to EUR 1.67 billion) in Q1, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). The net foreign direct investments accounted for only 1.4% of the GDP […]
Romania’s current account (CA) deficit rose by 50% to EUR 33.0 billion in 12 months to March 2025, after a sharp 82% y/y surge (to EUR 7.7 billion) in Q1, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR). The CA gap reached 9.3% of GDP (based on the latest available 4-quarter GDP […]
Romania's general government budget deficit hit 2.94% of GDP in January-April (RON 56.2 billion, or EUR 11 billion), up from 2.3% of GDP in Q1, according to Ziarul Financiar and
