The trade deficit, with imports and exports calculated free on board, was up 9.9% on the year in the first quarter, to EUR3.863 billion, from EUR3.514 billion.
In January-March, the current account was 47.6% covered by foreign direct investment which totaled EUR1.676 billion. In 2007, foreign direct investment in Romania totaled EUR7 billion, compared with EUR9.1 billion in 2006.
Current account transfers registered a surplus of EUR1.435 billion in Jan-Mar, up nearly 33% from the EUR1.079 billion surplus last year. Services posted a slight surplus of EUR43million, down from EUR285 million in the same period a year earlier.
Romania’s public debt totaled EUR39.9 billion at the end of March, up 4.2% compared with the end of 2007.
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.