Romania’s GDP Falls 7.2% On Year In 2009, Country Still in Recession

In the fourth quarter, the country’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 1.5% compared with a quarter earlier, INS said.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, the GDP fell 6.6% in real terms during the last quarter of 2009.

The data put a dumper on speculations about a revival in the fourth quarter of last year. The analysts polled by MEDIAFAX estimated the GDP would grow by as much as 1.5%-2% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter, easing the full-year contraction to 6.6%-7% in 2009.

In 2008, Romania’s GDP rose by a record 7.1%.

Romanian authorities estimate the economy will grow by 1.5% in 2010.