Romania’s current account balance of payment registered a deficit of EUR 8.73 billion in the first 11 months of last year, up 59.7 percent year-on-year, while the foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 8.6 percent to EUR 4.84 billion, according to the National Bank of Romania (BNR).
„The deficit on trade in goods widened by EUR 2.535 billion, the surplus on services income narrowed by EUR 169 million, the deficit of the primary income balance increased by EUR 260 million, and the surplus of the secondary income balance decreased by EUR 298 million,” the central bank said on Monday, in a press release.
The main source of the large external deficit is the negative trade balance.
Last year, the current account balance of payments registered a deficit of EUR 6.46 billion, or 3.4 percent of GDP.
On the other hand, non-residents’ direct investment in Romania totalled EUR 4.84 billion in the first 11 months of 2018, compared with EUR 4.46 billion in January – November 2017, “of which equity (including estimated net reinvestment of earnings) amounted to EUR 3.771 billion and intercompany lending recorded a net value of EUR 1.071 billion,” BNR indicates.
Foreign direct investment in Romania rose by 4.6 percent last year, to EUR 4.8 billion.