Romania's trade gap (goods only) contracted by 17% y/y to EUR 18.2 billion in January-August, the statistics office INS announced.

However, the trade gap in the eight-month period was by one quarter (+25%) larger compared to the same period in 2021 before the war in Ukraine pushed up the energy prices.

The good news (for Romania's external balance) is that the nominal GDP expressed in euros rose even faster, and the trade gap to GDP ratio returned to 6.0% for the first eight months this year from 8.5% in the same period last year and is still lower compared to the same period in 2021 (when the ratio was 6.4%).

In July-August (combined), both the exports and imports of Romania increased by around 23% compared to 2021, and chances are that they marked pretty moderate (a couple of percentage points) and similar growth rates in volume terms.

In Q2, the exports and imports expressed in euros rose by 27%-28% compared to Q2, 2021, while in volume terms, their two-year advance was only 3.5%-3.6%. For comparison, the GDP grew by 6.3% in real terms over the two-year period. This means foreign trade is diminishing in size compared to the country's economy.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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