Romania ‘09 4Q GDP Sees 2nd Largest Decline In EU

Compared with the third quarter of 2009, Romania’s GDP declined 1.5% in the fourth quarter, from a 0.6% contraction in the July-September period, EU’s statistics office Eurostat said in a flash estimate.

In the third quarter, European Union’s GDP rose by 0.3%.

Compared with the same quarter of 2008, Romanian GDP decreased by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, the fourth largest economic contraction in the EU bloc.

The EU’s GDP decreased by 2.3% on the year in October-December 2009.

The sharpest annual economic contractions in the EU bloc were reported in Latvia (-17.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter a year earlier), Estonia (-9.4%) and Lituania (-13%).