European Commission downwardly revises Romania's 2019 real GDP growth at 3.3pct

The European Commission on Tuesday downwardly revised to 3.3 percent its estimates of the real Romanian economy growth this year, from a January forecast of 3.8 percent. The European Commission published on Tuesday its spring economic forecasts. For 2020, the EC expects a further decline in Romania's economy, with economic growth projected at 3.1 percent now, down from 3.6 percent in the January forecasts. In its recently drafted 2019-2022 spring forecasts, Romania's Strategy and Forecast Board keeps its estimate of economic growth this year at 5.5 percent, with the nominal gross domestic product slightly upwardly revised to 1,031 billion lei, from 1,022 billion lei in the winter forecast. The growth forecasts for the next three years remained unchanged at 5.7 percent in 2020 and 5 percent in 2021 and 2022. In the beginning of April this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised downwardly to 3.1 percent, from 3.4 percent, its estimates of the Romanian economic growth in 2019. The IMF forecasts are more pessimistic than those of the World Bank, which has slightly improved its estimates of the developments in the Romanian economy in 2019, from 3.5 percent, as estimated in January, to 3.6 percent, and in 2020, from 3.1 percent to 3.3 percent. The 2019 national budget is built on a Gross Domestic Product of 1,022 billion lei, up 5.5 percent from 2018, an average annual inflation of 2.8 percent and a budget deficit estimated at 2.55 percent of GDP (cash) and 2.57 percent of GDP (ESA). AGERPRES (RO - author: Mihaela Dicu, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)