The bulk of the current account gap in the January-April period was made up of the trade deficit, which stood at EUR1.97 billion, against EUR5.87 billion in the similar period of 2008. Imports and exports were calculated free-on-board.
In the first four months, the current account deficit was entirely financed by foreign direct investments, which stood at EUR2.05 billion.
Romania’s total foreign debt fell to EUR71.76 billion at the end of April, compared with EUR73 billion at the end of 2008, according to the central bank.
In 2008, Romania’s current account deficit rose 1.2% to EUR16.87 billion, from EUR16.67 billion in the previous year, also due to a larger trade deficit.
The authorities predict the current account gap will narrow to 7.5% of the gross domestic product by the end of 2009, compared with 12.6% of the GDP in 2008.