Curr Acct Def „Not A Tragedy”, To Correct By Lower Consumption – Romanian PM

“I do not think the current account deficit is a tragedy or a burden. On the contrary, for an emerging market like Romania I find it necessary, as it reflects both the investments needed by Romanian economy at this moment and the consumption,” Tariceanu said during a debate with students at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies.

He added that the current account deficit was caused by a significant imbalance between supply and demand in Romania in the last period, but there will be a “normal adjustment of the current account gap through a consumption slowdown” in the near future.

“We do not need to fight against current account deficit as long as it is moderate,” Tariceanu said.

Romania’s current account deficit soared 14.75% on the year in January-September period, to EUR12.7 billion, from EUR11.07 billion in the same period a year earlier, driven by a wider trade deficit.

Romania’s Prognosis Commission estimates the country’s current account deficit will fall to 13.4% of GDP this year, from 14% of GDP in 2007.