Romania’s industrial production has unexpectedly declined in March, threatening GDP figures in the first quarter of this year, as demand flattens and inventories continues to rise.
Official data show that industrial output decreased by 0.2 percent year-on-year in March, following modest increases registered in January and February.
According to a recent industrial barometer, the reasons behind the slow down in industrial production are weaker demand and rising inventories.
The industrial production rose by 0.7 percent year-on-year in January and by 1.9 percent in February.
In the first quarter, industrial output registered a modest increase of 0.6 percent, signaling a possible weak GDP growth rate.
In 2018, Romania’s industrial production rose by 3.5 percent, a much lower rate that the official estimate of 4.5 percent.
The industry account for almost one quarter of Romania’s GDP and this poor performance has had an impact on the 2018 GDP value.