Romania Jan Curr Acct Gap Widens 16.7% On Yr

In January 2007, the country’s current account gap stood at EUR972 million.

Income from investments registered a deficit of EUR360 million in January, up 21.2% from the EUR297 million deficit in the same period a year ago, due to higher interest rates, the bank said.

The country’s trade deficit, which has so far been the traditional factor widening the current account gap, stood at EUR1.12 billion in January, virtually unchanged from the EUR1.11 billion deficit in January 2007.

Current account transfers registered a surplus of EUR296 million in January, down 17.3% from the EUR358 million in the same period last year. Services posted a slight surplus of EUR49 million, down from EUR78 million in the same month in 2007.

In January, the current account was 61.2% covered by foreign direct investments, which totaled EUR695 million. In 2007, foreign direct investments in Romania stood at EUR7 billion compared with EUR9.1 billion in 2006.

Last year, Romania’s current account gap widened 66.1% on the year to EUR16.87 billion from EUR10.15 billion in 2006, mainly due to a larger trade deficit.