The government of Romania will revise downward the official projection for this year’s growth from 2.8% currently but will beep it above 2% – over the World Bank (WB, 1.8%) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF, 1.7%), according to sources involved in the process consulted by Ziarul Financiar.

The change is being operated before the budget revision, the first “negative” revision operated since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

At this moment, forecasts issued by analysts of the local commercial banks for this year are rarely above 2%.

Most recently, ING Bank drastically reduced its economic growth forecast from 2.5% to 1.5%. BCR, the second largest bank in Romania, maintained its economic growth forecast of 2.1% for 2023 amid a bullish forecast for the agricultural sector in the second part of the year. Banca Transilvania, the largest bank in Romania, also envisages 2.1% growth for this year.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Alexandru Marinescu/Dreamstime.com)