Romania's 2010 GDP Fall Revised Down To 1.3%

03.03.2011 ZF English

The Romanian economy shrank by more than previously thought in 2010, largely due to declines in the constructions, retail and services sectors, revised figures showed Thursday.

Gross domestic product declined by 1.3% during 2010, compared to a contraction of 1.2% initially estimated, according to fresh data from the National Statistics Institute (INS).

However, the fall was les severe than the authorities had expected. Official forecasts pointed to a 1.9% economic contraction for 2010.

Constructions made a negative contribution of 10.7% to the 2010 GDP, while the retail and services sectors had an impact of -4% and -2.8% on the year, respectively, INS data showed.

The decline was somewhat tempered by a 5.1% increase in industry and a 0.8% growth in the financial and real estate sector.

INS maintained unchanged earlier figures on the fourth quarter GDP, with seasonally adjusted data showing a 0.1% increase compared with the same quarter of 2009.

Adjusted data indicate the fourth-quarter GDP fell 0.5% from the same period of 2009. In unadjusted data, the yearly contraction in the October-December period was of 0.6%.

The agriculture made a positive contribution of 7.4% to the fourth GDP, while the industry and the services sectors made positive contributions of 5.8% and 1.2% on the year, respectively.

INS said domestic demand fell by 1.2 percentage points in the last quarter of 2010, mostly due to a 4.7% decline in gross capital formation. Final consumption was down 2% on the year in the fourth quarter.

On a positive note, INS said net exports had improved in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the same period a year earlier, outgrowing imports.