Romanian economy to rise by 4.1% in 2018

By Jerom Bolt
With 0.7 percent economic growth in Q4 2018 compared to the third quarter, Romania more than twice outpaced both the euro zone and the European Union, that registered 0.2 percent growth, shows a flash estimate released on Thursday by EU’s statistical office Eurostat.
The annualized growth rate of the Romanian economy October to December 2018 was 4 percent, more than twice the EU28 average of 1.4 percent and the 1.2 percent of the euro area.
On Thursday, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced that the Romanian economy had slowed down to 4.1 percent in 2018 from 7 percent in the previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2018 the Romanian economy also slowed to 0.7 percent growth (seasonally adjusted series), from a quarterly 1.7 percent in Q3. Compared to the same period of 2017, the GDP advanced 4.1 percent as raw series and 4 percent as seasonally adjusted series.
The INS data show an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) below the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis (CNSP) estimates, which showed an advance of 4.5 pct for the Romanian economy in 2018.
In the last quarter of last year, the Romanian economy slowed its growth to 0.7 pct (seasonally adjusted series), from 1.7 pct in the third quarter versus the second quarter. Compared to the same period in 2017, the Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.1 pct as the gross series and by 4 pct as seasonally adjusted series.
The European Commission has recently shown in the interim winter economic forecasts that the economic boom that began in Romania in 2017 has moderated in 2018. The real growth of the GDP has shrunk from 7 pct in 2017 to an estimated level of 4 pct in 2018, the European Executive was saying.