Romania: Economic growth ticks up in Q4 on surging private consumption and investment
March 8, 2016
In the fourth quarter of 2015, the economy expanded 3.8% over the same period of the previous year, according to more detailed data released on 8 March. The figure marked a marginal acceleration compared to the 3.6% expansion observed in the third quarter and came above the 3.7% reported in the preliminary estimate. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 1.1% in seasonally-adjusted terms in Q4, which was down from the 1.5% rise tallied in Q3. In the full year 2015, GDP expanded a notable 3.8%, marking an acceleration compared to 2014’s 3.0% growth.
Private consumption grew 7.6% in the fourth quarter, which was stronger than the 6.6% increase observed in Q3 and marked the largest expansion since Q3 2008. By contrast, government spending decelerated from Q3’s 4.0% rise to a milder 1.3% growth in Q4. Growth in fixed investment surged from 4.2% in Q3 to a remarkable 11.0% expansion in Q4, which was the fastest pace of growth since September 2008.
On the external side of the economy, exports swung from a 0.9% increase in Q3 to a 1.5% contraction in Q4, marking the weakest reading in over three years. Imports sped up from a 3.1% growth in the third quarter to a 3.9% rise in the fourth quarter. Thus, the external sector’s net contribution to overall economic growth fell from minus 2.1 percentage points in Q3 to minus 3.5 percentage points in Q4.
