Romania Jan Curr Acct Gap Narrows 73.2% To EUR123M

The country’s trade deficit reached EUR217 million in January, down 55.8% on the year. Imports and exports are calculated free-on-board.

Foreign direct investments, which stood at EUR302 million, covered Romania’s current account gap entirely in January.

Romania’s total external debt reached EUR77.86 billion end January, compared with EUR78.65 billion at the end of 2009, according to central bank data.

The narrower debt was mostly due to the falling short-term debt, which stood at EUR13.6 billion at the end of January, down from EUR14.4 billion in December last year.

The medium- and long-term debt was at EUR64.21 billion, slightly wider from EUR64.2 billion at the end of December.

In 2009, Romania’s current account deficit narrowed 68.7% on the year to EUR5.05 billion.