Over the first two months of 2009, the balance-of-payments current account posted a deficit of EUR 614 million, 75.5 percent lower than in the same period of 2008, due largely to the narrower trade deficit (EUR 961 million), down 59.5 percent.
- EUR million -
| |
January - February 2008* |
January - February 2009** |
| CREDIT |
DEBIT |
NET |
CREDIT |
DEBIT |
NET |
| CURRENT ACCOUNT (A+B+C)
| 8,125
| 10,629
| -2,504
| 6,843
| 7,457
| -614
|
| A. Goods and services
| 6,641
| 8,876
| -2,235
| 5,154
| 6,048
| -894
|
| a. Goods (exports fob - imports fob)***
| 5,392
| 7,762
| -2,370
| 3,992
| 4,953
| -961
|
| b. Services
| 1,249
| 1,114
| 135
| 1,162
| 1,095
| 67
|
| - transport
| 359
| 396
| -37
| 356
| 271
| 85
|
| - tourism - travel
| 193
| 159
| 34
| 120
| 170
| -50
|
| - other
| 697
| 559
| 138
| 686
| 654
| 32
|
| B. Incomes
| 360
| 1,166
| -806
| 209
| 901
| -692
|
| C. Current transfers
| 1,124
| 587
| 537
| 1,480
| 508
| 972 |
* revised data
** provisional data
*** Source: National Institute of Statistics; imports fob are calculated based on CIF/FOB conversion coefficient of 1.0834 set by the NIS.
Non-residents' foreign direct investment in Romania worth EUR 1,374 million (as compared with EUR 995 million over January-February 2008) entirely covered the current account deficit in January-February 2009 (compared with 39.7 percent over the same period of 2008). Over the first two months of 2009, out of the total of EUR 1,374 million, equity stakes accounted for 45.2 percent of the total figure, intra-group loans1 38.4 percent and reinvested earnings 16.4 percent.
Medium- and long-term external debt at end-February 2009 added 1.4 percent against end-2008 to EUR 51,402 million (71.6 percent of total external debt).
Short term external debt at end-February 2009 totalled EUR 20,347 million (28.4 percent of total external debt), down 9.0 percent from year-end 2008.
Public and publicly guaranteed external debt at end-February 2009 totalled EUR 10,907 million (15.2 percent of total external debt), down 0.5 percent from end-2008.
Non-publicly guaranteed external debt came in at EUR 35,137 million at end-February 2009 (49.0 percent of total external debt), rising 2.8 percent from year-end 2008.
Romania's external debt at end-February 2009*
and external debt service over January-February 2009
- EUR million -
| |
Total external debt balance |
External debt service January-February 2009p |
| End-2008r |
End-February 2009p |
|
I. Medium- and long term external debt |
50,711
| 51,402
| 858
|
|
I.1. Direct public debt a) |
9,240
| 9,146
| 122
|
|
I.2. Publicly guaranteed debt b) |
1,719
| 1,761
| 34
|
|
I.3. Non-publicly guaranteed debt |
34,185
| 35,137
| 614
|
|
I.4. Medium- and long- term deposits of non-residents |
5,567
| 5,358
| 88e
|
|
II. Short term external debt |
22,356
| 20,347
| 6,059e |
|
Total external debt (I+II) |
73,067
| 71,749
| 6,917 |
*) The balance of medium- and long-term external debt is cash-based (not including unmatured accrued interest).
a) external loans taken directly by the Ministry of Public Finance and local general government in compliance with the legislation on public debt
b) external loans guaranteed by the Ministry of Public Finance and local general government in compliance with the legislation on public debt
r - revised data
p - provisional data
e - estimates
Medium- and long-term external debt service ratio
2 ran at 16.6 percent over the first two months of 2009, compared to 29.3 percent in 2008. At end-February 2009, goods and services
import cover3 stood at 9.4 months versus 5.7 months at year-end 2008.
Notes:
- Loans between the foreign investor and the resident company.
- External debt service ratio is computed as a ratio of medium- and long-term external debt service to exports of goods and services.
- Import cover is computed as a ratio of the NBR's official reserves (foreign exchange + gold) at end of period to average monthly imports of goods and services for the period under review.