WASHINGTON: The Romanian exports of goods increased by 5.4 percent in February, while imports went up by 5.5 percent. Romanian exports slowed down in February, after a solid increase recorded in January, registering a 5.4 percent increase to EUR 5.07 billion, a trend below that of imports, an evolution that damaged the monthly trade deficit, according to the data of the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
The imports increased in February by 5.5 percent compared to February 2016 to EUR 5.72 billion, according to News.ro. As a result of the evolution, the trade deficit of Romania was EUR 651.6 million in February, a 6.5 percent growth compared to the level recorded in February 2016, of EUR 611.8 million. Over the two months of 2017, the exports climbed by 9.2 percent year-on-year, to EUR 9.75 billion, while the imports increases by 10.9 percent to EUR 11 billion. The commercial deficit after the first two months stood at EUR 1.26 billion, a 27 percent growth. Romania exported in February merchandise valued at EUR 3.84 billion in EU, meaning 75.7 percent of the total and imported EUR 3.95 billion of the other 27 EU member states, meaning 74.7 percent of the total imports.
Romania has a trade deficit with countries outside the EU. In February the exports outside EU stood at EUR 1.11 billion, a growth by 21.1 percent compared with February 2016, exceeded by imports, valued at EUR 1.34 billion (38 percent). The transport equipments had the highest share in the external trade in the first two months of 2017, by 48 percent at export and 37 percent at imports, followed by manufacturing products, with 33.4 percent at export and 30.4 percent at import.
