Romania’s public debt climbed by RON 27.6 bln (EUR 5.6 bln) during January to RON 695 bln (EUR 141.2 bln) at the end of the month, as the country issued FX bonds twice during the first month of the year.

The two issues were supposed to allow the Government to take a break from tapping the foreign market – but the disappointing budget execution in the first quarter of the year may force it to change its plans. The Samurai bonds remain an option, however, rather remote because of the legal details that must be tackled before issuing debt on the Japanese market.

Following the repeated FX bond issues, the debt to GDP ratio thus increased by 2pp to 49.2% at the end of January, from 47.2% at the end of 2022. The ratio will probably be revised slightly downward after Q1 GDP is released and the rolling 4-quarter GDP figure is updated.

However, the country’s public debt advanced substantially during January, in absolute terms, as the Government took advantage of the investors’ sentiment and replenished the Treasury’s buffer with EUR 2 bln and USD 4 bln. 

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ungureanu Vadim/Dreamstime.com)