Romania's total external debt, public and private, decreased by EUR 58 million, in January 2021, to EUR 125.3 billion.

In contrast, the direct public debt continued to grow, by EUR 127 mln (+0.92%) in the first month of the year to EUR 57.6 bln at the end of January, according to data published on Tuesday by Romania's National Bank (BNR).

The private long-term debt and short-term debt decreased by EUR 350 mln and EUR 240 mln, respectively. Thus, the country's overall external indebtedness edged down in the month to EUR 125.4 bln.

With an external debt-to-GDP ratio under 50%, the country outperforms the median of its sovereign rating category (BBB-).

Of the total volume, long-term external debt amounted to EUR 91.5 bln at the end of January, or 72.9% of the total external debt, increasing by 0.2% compared to the end of 2020. Meanwhile, the short-term external debt decreased by 0.7% month-on-month to EUR 33.93 bln, respectively 27.1% of the total external debt.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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