23:08
Earlier, ING analysts predicted a decline of 2.8% in 2010.
Romania’s third quarter gross domestic product shrank by 0.7% in seasonally adjusted terms compared with the previous quarter, beating market expectations of a 1.3% contraction. In annual terms, the GDP declined 2.5% in unadjusted data.
ING analysts had predicted a quarterly decline of 2.5% and an annual contraction of 4%.
ING Bank also revised upward its forecast for the 2011 GDP growth to 0.2%, from a decline of 1.8% previously estimated.
Romanian authorities estimate the economy will contract by around 2% this year, from a decline of 7.1% in 2009.