The willingness to spend in Romania is low, despite the good evolution of the economy and the people’s expectations for higher revenues this year, according to GfK’s Consumer Climate study.

Last year, the Romanian economy grew significantly, and the positive evolution continued this year. In the second quarter of this year, the GDP rose by 3.3% year-on-year.

Although the Romanians’ expectations on economic growth dropped by 2.9 points, in the third quarter, to the current level of 18.5 points, they are still 15 points above the level recorded one year ago. The Romanian’s revenue expectations have also followed the positive trend. In September, this indicator increased by 2.8 points compared to June, reaching 21.3 points.

However, for many Romanians the income is only enough to cover day to day needs, which is why the willingness to spend remains low. Compared to June, the willingness to spend indicator increased by 5.1 points, reaching -6.4 points in September. The negative value shows that overall, the Romanians’ willingness to spend remains below the multiannual average.

However, this indicator has shown significant improvement in the past five years, as it stood at minus 40 points in 2010. This was also reflected in the household consumption, which increased significantly in the past two years, taking over from exports as the economy’s growth engine.

editor@romania-insider.com