Romania: GDP drops at softer pace in Q1
A flash estimate showed that GDP shrank 0.2% in year-on-year terms in the first quarter of 2021, moderating notably from Q4 2020’s 1.4% decline.
Meanwhile, on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, economic activity grew 2.8% in Q1 (Q4 2020: +4.6% s.a. qoq).
Comprehensive national accounts data for the first quarter will be released on 8 June.
Commenting on the release and the outlook ahead, Valentin Tataru, chief Romania economist at ING, said:
“The first quarter of 2021 came with a wow factor: GDP advanced by 2.8% versus the previous quarter (-0.2% year-on-year), taking the economy to pre-pandemic levels. The risks to our already optimistic GDP forecasts of +5.5% in 2021 look clearly skewed to the upside.”