Romanian Jan-Feb Curr Acct Gap 5.6% Wider On Yr

The January-February moderate widening of the current account gap was largely due to a larger income deficit, the bank said. Income from investments registered a deficit of EUR727 million in Jan-Feb, up 15.7% from the EUR628 million deficit in the corresponding period a year earlier.

The country’s trade deficit, which has so far been the traditional cause of the widening current account deficit, totaled EUR2.245 billion in January-February, virtually unchanged from the EUR2.227 billion deficit in the first two months of 2007.

The bank also said the country’s booming imports slowed for the third month in a row and eased their pressure on the current account.

Current account transfers registered a surplus of EUR665 million in Jan-Feb, up nearly 4% from the EUR640 million surplus last year. Services posted a slight surplus of EUR114 million, down from EUR139 million.

In Jan-Feb, the current account was 55.5% covered by foreign direct investments, which totaled EUR1.218 billion. In 2007, foreign direct investment in Romania totaled EUR7 billion, compared with EUR9.1 billion in 2006.

Last year, Romania’s current account deficit widened 66.1% on the year to EUR16.87 billion from EUR10.15 billion in 2006, mainly due to a larger trade deficit.