30 pct of Romanians expect the economy to improve in 2015, shows GfK study

For the first time since the beginning of the crisis the number of Romanians who think the economy will perform better over the coming year surpasses the number of those who expect the economy to worsen, according to the findings of the Consumer Confidence Barometer conducted by GfK for the European Commission.

“It is the first time in seven years when the share of those who are confident about the economic future of the country surpasses the share of those who are skeptical. This leads us to believe that the GfK indicator will go up in 2015 as well. The fact that an intense elections year came to an end and that there are recovery premises for the global economy, makes Romanians hope for a better future,” said Andi Dumitrescu, the general director of GfK Romania.

The GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer reached an annual average of -28.6 at the end of 2014.

According to GfK, four out of ten Romanians consider that the general state of the Romanian economy suffered a setback last year compared to 2013. However, the situation has improved compared to December 2013, when nearly six out of ten Romanians felt the same way. Moreover, a third of them expect the economy to get better in 2015 and only 20 percent expect it to get worse.

A third of Romanians said in December that their families’ financial situation was worse than 12 months before and only 16 percent thought it was better. The situation had improved compared to a year before when 44 percent of respondents said their families’ financial situation had worsened.

The study also reveals that the Romanians expectations regarding their financial perspectives, inflation and unemployment improved in December 2014 compared to the situation 12 months before. Also, the number of those who didn’t plan to spend on buying durable goods dropped in December 2014 (49 percent) compared to December 2013 (52 percent).

The Romanians attitude towards saving remained relatively stable. Only 20 percent of Romanians considered in December 2014 that it was a good time to save while 59 percent of respondents said their income barely covered their monthly expenses. At the same time the number of debtors posted a slight drop – 16 percent compared to 19 percent in December 2013 and December 2012.

The information comes from the Consumer Confidence Barometer, a study that is co-financed by the European Commission and conducted monthly by GfK Romania. The data are representative of Romania’s population aged 15 and over, the sample being of 1,000 people interviewed each month.

Simona Bazavan