The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Monday revised upward its forecast for Romanian economic growth to 1.1 percent in 2011, from 0.9 percent previously, citing slightly improvements over recent months. "Economic prospects have improved slightly in recent months in Bulgaria and Romania (…). In Romania, the government has managed to remain on course with the IMF program by implementing harsh austerity measures that will help to keep the fiscal accounts under control," EBRD said in its latest quarterly economic forecast.

However, the EBRD estimated the Romanian economy had contracted again in 2010, by around 2 percent, saying that any recovery this year is likely to be modest. The bank said the southeast Europe continues to lag behind other regions in terms of the pace of recovery from the crisis, with the exception of Turkey, where growth is now proceeding at a rapid pace. For 2011, EBRD expects the economy will pick up to 1.9 percent in the region, up from a growth of 1.6 percent previously predicted.

Mediafax